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Thomas  Jefferson 

Age  about  $8  years 


From  a  portrait  painted  by  Gilbert  Stuart  at  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1800,  now  in  the  pos 
session  of  Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Me. 

Stuart  painted  Jefferson's  portrait  from  life  three  times.  This  superb  picture  was  the 
first  of  the  three  paintings,  and  was  the  one  preferred  by  the  illustrious  statesman,  who  paid 
Stuart  $100  for  it.  Stuart,  however,  as  was  his  practise,  sold  the  picture  twice  and  turned  it 
over  to  Governor  James  Bowdoin,  who  bequeathed  it  to  the  College  named  ai'lor  him. 


[11 


1  he  Jeffersonian  Cyclopedia 


A  COMPREHENSIVE  COLLECTION  OF  THE 
VIEWS   OF 

(.in/ 


THOMAS    JEFFERSON 


Classified  and  Arranged  in  Alphabetical  Order  Under  Nine  Thousand 

Titles  Relating  to  Government,  Politics,  Law,  Education, 

Political  Economy,  Finance,  Science,  Art, 

Literature,   Religious  Freedom, 

Morals,  Etc. 


EDITED   BY 

JOHN  P.  FOLEY 


"I  have  sworn  upon  the  altar  of  God 
eternal  hostility  against  every  form  of  tyranny 
over  the  mind  of  man." — Thomas  Jefferson. 


FUNK  &  WAGNALLS  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


COPYRIGHT,  1900,  BY 
FUNK   &   WAGNALLS   COMPANY 

REGISTERED   AT   STATIONERS*    HALL,    LONDON,    ENGLAND 
f Printed  in  the   United  States  of  America] 


PREFACE 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA  is  designed  to  be  a  complete  classified 
arrangement  of  the  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson  on  Government,  Politics, 
Law,  Education,  Commerce,  Agriculture,  Manufactures,  Navigation,  Finance, 
Morals,  Religious  Freedom,  and  many  other  topics  of  permanent  human 
interest.  It  contains  everything  of  importance  that  Jefferson  wrote  on  these 
subjects. 

Why  and  wherefore  the  publication  of  this  volume  now  ?  The  answer  is 
this :  More  than  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  one  of  the  earlier  biogra 
phers  of  Jefferson  wrote  :  "It  would  be  a  happy  circumstance  for  America 
and  for  the  mass  of  mankind  if  the  works  of  Jefferson  could  obtain  a  circula 
tion  which  would  place  them  in  the  hands  of  every  individual.  Unfortunately, 
the  form  in  which  they  have  appeared  is  not  the  most  advantageous  to  the 
accomplishment  of  this  desirable  purpo.se.  The  publication  is  too  voluminous, 
and  consequently  too  expensive,  to  admit  of  a  general  introduction  among  all 
classes,  nor  is  the  mode  of  arrangement  the  best  adapted  to  its  reception  into 
ordinary  use  as  a  work  of  reference. ' ' 

From  that  distant  day  to  the  present  time,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to 
arrange  and  classify  the  theories  and  principles  of  Jefferson,  so  as  to  make 
them  available  in  ready  reference  form. 

THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA  aims  to  do  this — to  be  a  Manual  of 
Jeffersonian  Doclrine,  accurate,  complete,  impartial,  giving  Jefferson's  views, 
theories,  and  ideas  in  his  own  words.  No  edition  of  Jefferson's  Writings, 
printed  at  either  public  or  private  expense,  contains  so  comprehensive  a  collec 
tion  of  Jefferson's  opinions  as  this  volume.  This  fa(5l  will  be  clearly  seen  by 
all  who  consult  it. 

Not  alone  to  the  American  people,  but  to  all  peoples,  are  Jefferson's  opin 
ions  on  Government  of  deep  and  abiding  interest.  Among  the  Statesmen  of 
all  time,  he  is  the  foremost  Expounder  of  the  Rights  of  Man,  of  the  unalien- 
able  right  of  every  human  being  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 
That  is  the  object  of  all  just  Government,  to  preserve  which  Jeffersonian 

principles  must  be  sacredly  cherished. 

J.  P.  F. 
Brooklyn,  July  jist,  1900. 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Portrait  by  Stuart Frontispiece 

Portrait  by  Peale          ....  .  .         .  96 

Portrait  by  Desnoyers  .  .         .         192 

Portrait  by  Brumidi      ...  ......         288 

Bronze  Statue  by  d' Angers  .  , 384 

Portrait  by  Stuart         ....  ...,.'.         480 

Monticello,  the  Home  of  Thomas  Jefferson  ,         .  ,         590 

Portrait  by  Sully .  714 

Marble  Statue  by  Powers     ........  800 

Portrait  by  Otis  ....  .         ,  ,896 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


Born  at  Shadwell,  Albemarle  Co.,  Va April  2  (O.  S.),  13  (N.  S.),  1743 

Death  of  his  Father,  Peter  Jefferson August  17,  1757 

Entered  William  and  Mary  College  „         .......       March,  1760 

Graduation          ............  April  25,  1762 

Entered  Law  Office  of  George  Wythe       ........         April,  1762 

Admitted  to  Bar .  ...         .         .         .         .  1767 

Elected  to  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  .......       March,  1769 

Marriage  to  Martha  Wayles  Skelton         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  January,  1772  * 

Birth  of  his  First  Daughter,  Martha         ......  September  27,  1772 

/Appointed  Surveyor  of  Albemarle  County       ......  October,  1773 

Birth  of  Second  Daughter,  Jane  Randolph      .......      April  3,  1774 

Elected  Deputy  to  Continental  Congress  .......      March,  1775 

Attends  Continental  Congress June  21,  1775 

Death  of  his  Mother  ..........  March  31,  1776 

, '  Appointed  on  Committee  to  prepare  Declaration  of  Independence         .         .    June  n,  1776 
Draft  of  Declaration  Reported  .........    June  28,  1776 

Elected  Commissioner  to  France       .         .         .         .         .  .  September  26,  1776 

Attends  Virginia  Assembly October,  1776 

Appointed  on  Committee  to  Revise  Virginia  Laws  ....     November  6,  1776 

Birth  of  Son May  28,  1777 

Death  of  Son       .............    June  14,  1777 

Birth  of  Third  Daughter,  Mary August  I,  1778 

Elected  Governor  of  Virginia June  i,  1779 

Reelected  Governor  of  Virginia         .         ,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .      June  I,  1780 

Fourth  Daughter  Born November  3,  1780 

Resigns  Governorship        ...........      June  i,  1781 

Assembly  Orders  Investigation  of  his  Administration    .....      June  5,  1781 

Appointed  Peace  Commissioner  by  Continental  Congress       ....    June  14,  1781 

Appointment  Declined        ..........  June  30,  1781 

Attends  Virginia  Assembly November  5.  1781 

Committee  Appointed  to  State  Charges  Against  Him      .         .         .  November  26,  1781 

Elected  Delegate  to  Congress November  30,  1781 

Voted  Thanks  of  Assembly        ........  December  12,  1781 

Daughter  Lucy  Elizabeth  Born May  8,  1782 

Death  of  Mrs.  Jefferson      ..........    September  6,  1782 

Appointed  Peace  Commissioner  to  Europe        .....  November  12,  1782 

Appointment  Withdrawn    ...........     April  i,  1783 

Elected  Delegate  to  Congress    ..........     June  6,  1783 

Elected  Chairman  of  Congress  ........         March  12,  1784 

S  Elected  Minister  to  France          ..........      May  7,  1784 

Arrived  in  Paris August  6,  1784 

Elected  French  Minister  by  Congress        .......          March  10,  1785 

Audience  at  French  Court May  17,  1785 

Death  of  Youngest  Daughter,  Lucy  .......       November,  1785 

Presented  to  George  III.  at  Windsor         .......          March  22,  1786 

Made  an  LL.D.  by  Yale October,  1786 

Made  an  LL.D.  by  Harvard        ..........         June,  1788 

H  Prepares  Charter  for  France      ..........     June  3,  1789  f 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


J   Nominated  to  be  Secretary  of  State 

Confirmed  by  Senate  .         .         .         .         .         . 

Leaves  France     .         .         .         .         .         .         . 

At  Monticello       .         .         .         .         . 

Accepts  Secretaryship  of  State 

/  Marriage  of  Daughter  Martha  to  Thomas  Mann  Randolph     , 

Writes  to  Washington  of  Intention  to  Resign  from  Cabinet    . 

Reconsiders  Resignation     ........ 

Offered  French  Mission       .         . 

Resigns  Secretaryship  of  State  ...... 

Offered  Foreign  Mission     ........ 

Elected  Vice-President        ........ 

.'<  Elected  President  of  Philosophical  Society       .... 

Takes  Oath  of  Office  as  Vice-President 

Marriage  of  Mary  Jefferson  to  John  Wayles  Eppes 
'  Writes  Essay  on  Study  of  Anglo-Saxon 

Drafts  Kentucky  Resolutions     ....... 

Revises  Madison's  Virginia  Resolutions   ..... 
f  Plans  University  of  Virginia 

Prepares  Parliamentary  Manual        ...... 

Republican  Caucus  Nominates  Jefferson  and  Burr 

Congress  Begins  to  Ballot  for  President  .... 

Elected  President 

Farewell  Address  to  Senate        ....... 

Inauguration  as  President 

Louisiana  Treaty  Signed  at  Paris      ...... 

Louisiana  Treaty  Ratified  ....... 

Message  on  Taking  Possession  of  Louisiana    .... 

Reelected  President  of  United  States 

?  Elected  President  of  American  Philosophical  Society 

Signs  Bill  to  End  Slave  Trade 

Proposes  to  Seize  the  Floridas  ...... 

Embargo  Act  Signed  ........ 

Repeal  of  Embargo  Signed         ....... 

Retires  from  Presidency     ........ 

Arrives  at  Monticello  ........ 

Resigns  Presidency  of  American  Philosophical  Society 

Congress  Passes  Bill  to  Buy  Library         ..... 
'Drafts  Virginia  Protest 

Executes  Will 

Declines  Invitation  to  Fourth  of  July  Celebration  in  Washington 

Writes  Last  Letter 

Death  . 


September  25, 

September  26, 

October, 

December  24, 

February  14, 

February  28, 

May  23, 

January, 

February, 

December  31, 

September, 

,    November  4, 

January, 

March  4, 

October  13, 

October, 

October, 

November, 

January  18, 

February, 

May, 

.    February  n, 

.    February  17, 

,    February  28, 

March  4, 

May  2, 

October  20, 

.      January  18, 

November, 

January, 

March  2, 

,    September  i, 

December  22, 

March  i, 

March  4, 

March  17, 

November, 

.    '       January, 

December, 

March  16, 

.  June  24. 

.   June  25, 

.      July  4, 


1789 

1789 

1789 

1789 

1790 

1790 

1792 

1793 

1793 

1793 

1794 

1796 

1797 

1797 

1797 

1798 

1798 

1798 

1800*- 

1800 

1800 

iSoi 

1801 

1801 

1801 

1803 

1803 

1804 

1804 

1807 

1807    •* 

1807 

1807 

1809 

1809 

1809 

1814 

1815 

1825  *• 

1826 

1826 

1826 

1826 


LIST    OF    PATRONS 


THIS  CYCLOPEDIA  HAS  BEEN  BROUGHT  TO  A  SUCCESSFUL  COMPLETION  AND  ITS  PUBLI 
CATION  MADE  PRACTICABLE  THROUGH  THE  CO-OPERATION  OF  A  LARGE  NUMBER  OF 
ADMIRERS  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  WHO  RECOGNIZED  IN  ADVANCE  THE  DESIRABILITY 
OF  SUCH  A  WORK  AND  WHO  SHARE  IN  THE  HONOR  OF  ITS  PRODUCTION.  THE  NAMES 
OF  THESE  PATRONS  OF  THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA  ARE  AS  FOLLOWS: 


Abbott,  A.    F Fredericktown,   Mo. 

Abbott,  M.  J Hayes   Centre,   Neb. 

Abersol,    Edward  J Metamora,    111. 

Adams,  Hon.    Alva Pueblo,    Colo. 

Adams,  Charles  B Kansas   City,    Mo. 

Adams,  Charles  S Volga  City,   Iowa 

Adams,  C.   M Alexandria,  Va. 

Adams,  Jed.    C Kaufman,   Tex. 

Adams,  William  R New  York,   N.   Y. 

Adkins,  William  H Easton,    Md. 

Agar,   John   G New    York   City 

Aikens,   Frank   R Sioux  Falls,   So.    Dak. 

Ainslie,  George Boise  City,  Idaho 

Albert  Barnes  Memorial  Library.  ..Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Albright,  Fontaine   E Fort  Worth  Tex. 

Albright,  J.    G Milwaukee.Wis. 

Alden,  Charles  A New  York  City 

Aldrich,    Charles    H Evanston,    111. 

Alexander,  Hope  H Thomasville,   Ga. 

Alexander,    Hugh Concordia,    Kan. 

Alison,  T.    Smvser,   M.D Swartz,   La. 

Alice,   W.   S.,  "M.D Olean,   Mo. 

Allen,  G.   R.  C Wheeling,  W.   Va. 

Allen,  Harry    K Gallatin,    Mo. 

Allen,  H.   Jerome,    M.D Washington,   D.    C. 

Allen,  John  L.  M New  York  City 

Allen,  Richard  E Augusta,   Ga. 

Alley,  S.   S Wilber,   Neb. 

Allison,  Hon.  William  B Dubuque,  Iowa 

Alrich,  Enrique El    Paso  Tex. 

Alston,  David    M Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Altgelt,   George  C San  Antonio,   Tex. 

Alvord,  W.     C Peoria,     111. 

Anderbery,  C.   P Minden,  Neb. 

Anderson,  E.   B Harmony  Grove,   Ga. 

Anderson,  Henry  W Richmond,  Va. 

Anderson,  James  T Stanberry,  Mo. 

Anderson,  Jefferson   Randolph Savannah,    Ga. 

Anderson,  Joseph    R Lee,   Va. 

Anderson,  T.   P Kansas  City,  Kan. 

Andrews,  Theodore  E Minneapolis,   Minn. 

Andrus,  John  A Ashton,  111. 

Ansley,   Hudson Salamanca,   N.  Y. 

Archibald,  J.   W Jacksonville,    Fla. 

Armgardt,  H.,  M.D Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Armstrong,  Hunter    S St.    Clairsville,  Ohio 

Armstrong,  W.   E Waco,  Tex. 

Arner,  Calvin  E Allentown,  Pa. 

Arthur,  John  G Omaha,    Neb. 

Asbury,  D.    F Newport   News,   Va. 

Ash,  Robert San    Francisco,    Cal. 

Ashworth,   J.    S Bristol,    Va. 

Atkinson,  J.    A Creede,    Colo. 

Atkinson,  Louis  E Mifflintown,   Pa. 

Autenrieth,    Henry    G New    York   City 

Avritt,  Samuel Louisville,  Ky. 

Aycock,  William  T Columbia,  S.  C. 

Ayers,   Harry  J Big  Stone  Gap,   Va. 

Bacon,  Rev.   T.    S.,   D.D Buckeystown,    Md. 

Bader,  D.  M Cleveland,  Ohio 

Bagley,  George   C Minneapolis,    Minn. 

Bagley,  W.   D Rockdale,  Tex. 

Bailey,    Mrs.   James   Stacey Waycross,  Ga. 

Baird,  C.   E Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Baird,  William Marine    City,    Mich. 

Baker,  Rosa Rochester,   N.   Y. 

Baker,  William   H Buffalo,   N.  Y. 

Baker,  William   V Columbus,   Ohio 

Baldwin,  B.  J.,  Jr Paris,  Tex. 

Baldwin,  Frank  A Bowling  Green,  Ohio 

Baldwin,  W.    H Rockport,  Tex. 

Ballance,  William  P.,  M.D Tuneau,  Alaska 

Ballard,  Guy,  A.B Anderson,   Ind. 

Ballard,  W.    Harrison,  M.D Los   Angeles,   Cal. 


Banta,  D.  A Great  Bend,  Kan. 

Barber,   Theodore   M Pittsburg,   Pa. 

Bard,  H.   Burton Lansing,   Mich. 

Barker,  Joseph  D Petersburg,  Ind. 

Barnes,  Carl  L.,  M.D.,  LL.B Chicago,  111. 

Barnes,  Charles  A Jacksonville,    111. 

Barnes,  E.   H Healdsburg,   Cal. 

Barnes,  O.    H Middlebourne,    W.   Va. 

Barnett,    DeWitt  C Harrisonville,    Mo. 

Barnett,  M.   S Cuba,   Mo. 

Barney,  J.  A May ville,  Wis. 

Barrett,  James  M Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

Barrick,  Charles  W New  Martinsville,  W.  Va. 

Bartlett,  C.  L Macon,  Ga. 

Bartlett,  George  A Eureka,   Nev. 

Barton,  Alexander  J Allegheny,  Pa. 

Batcheller,   George  Clinton New  York  City 

Batchelor,  R.    Horton New   York   City 

Bates,  Benjamin   F Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 

Bates,  William  S Houston,   Miss. 

Uausman,   Frederick Seattle,  Wash. 

Bayne,  John Salem,  Ore. 

Beach,  M.  W Carroll,  Iowa 

Beach,  W.  H Holland,  Mich. 

Beach,  William  A Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Beale  Memorial   Library Bakersfield,  Cal. 

Beall  &  Kemp El  Paso,  Tex. 

Beeber,  William  P Williamspprt,  Pa. 

Beecher,  Walter   H Cincinnati,   Ohio 

Behrns,  C.    L Cherokee,  Tex. 

Beidelman,  William Easton,   Pa. 

Belcher,   Bart Dikeville,   Ky. 

Belford,  James   B Denver,    Colo. 

Bell,  Hal New  York  City 

Bell,  James  D Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Bell,  R.  R Gainesville,  Tex. 

Bell,  Theodore  A Napa,  Cal. 

Bender,  John  S Plymouth,   Ind. 

Benedict,  C.  B Attica,   N.  Y. 

Bennett,  Lewis  J Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Bentley,  A.  C Pittsfield,  111. 

Bentley,  James   H Ridley  Park,  Pa. 

Benton,  J.   M Winchester,   Ky. 

Berdrow,  L.  G David  City,  Neb. 

Bernheim,   Isaac  W Louisville,   Ky. 

Bernstein,  Ernest  R Shreveport,   La 

Berrien,  R.  Noble,  Jr Waynesboro,  Ga. 

Bertram,  G.  Webb Oberlin,  Kan. 

Betts,  Frederick New  York  City 

Bettzhoover,  F.   E Carlisle,   Pa. 

Biddle,   W.  R Fort  Scott,  Kan. 

Bidwell,  H.    G.,   M.D Jersey  City,    N.  J. 

Birnie,  C.,    M.D Taneytown,   Md. 

Bischoff,  Henry,  Jr New  York  City 

Bittenbender,   H.    C Lincoln,   Neb. 

Bittiner,  Edmund New  York  City 

Black,    Charles   J Jersey    City,    N.    J. 

Black,  Chauncey  F York,  Pa. 

Black,  Cyrenius  P Lansing,  Mich. 

Black.  Howard  C Plain  City,  Ohio 

Blackford,  William  M Lewistown,   Mont. 

Blackmore,    Tames  W Gallatin,   Tenn. 

Blackwcll,   S'amuel New    Decatur,    Ala. 

Blain,  Alexander  W Detroit,   Mich. 

Blair,  George New   York  City 

Blake,   W.   H Wetumpka,  Ala. 

Blakeley,  W.   A Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Blanchard,  Nathan  W Santa  Paula,  Cal. 

Blanck,  Joseph  E.,  M.D Green  Lane,  Pa 

Blee,  John   W Sandwich,    111. 

Bloom,   S.   S Shelby,    Ohio 

Blose,  G.  Ament Hamilton,  Pa. 

Bohannan,  T.  E Falmouth,  Ky. 

Bohannon,  L.  T..  M.D Orphan  Home,  Tex. 


xiv 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


Boles,  Thomas Fort  Smith,  Ark. 

Boiler,  J.   F Porterville,  Cal. 

Bomar,  T.  B Forth  Worth  Tex. 

Boney,  Richard  K Duckport,  La. 

Bonsall,  Charles Salem,    Ohio 

Booher,  Charles  F Savannah,  Mo. 

Booker,  A.  G Wadena,  Minn. 

Boone,  L.   L San  Diego,  Cal. 

Boothe,  J.  B Sardis,  Miss. 

Boren,  George  E Bristol,  Tenn. 

Borkert,  Rev.  J.  W Grass  Creek,  Ind. 

Bouck,  Gabe Oshkosh,  Wis. 

Bouldin,  Virgil Scottsboro,  Ala. 

Bowers,  F.  E Perrysburg,  Ohio 


Bowie,  J.  C Talladega,  Ala. 

Bowie,  Sydney  J Anniston,  Ala. 

Bowser,  O.    P ._. .Dallas,    Tex. 


Boyce,  John  J Santa  Barbara,  Cal. 

Boyd,  Henry  A Warrenton,  N.  C. 

Boyle,  Wilbur  F St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Brace,  William Chicago,  111. 

Bradford,  Ernest  W Washington,  D.  C. 

Bradford,  Mary  S Cleveland,  Ohio 

Bradley,  Herbert  E Columbus,  Ohio 

Bradley,  John  H Senath,  Mo. 

Bradley,  Washington Kinmundy,  111. 

Bradshaw,  Homer  S Ida  Grove,  Iowa 

Branch,  Oliver  E Manchester,  N.  H. 

Branch,  W.  W Charleston,  W.  Va. 

Brandon,  William  R.,  M.D Brandon,  La. 

Bransford,  C.  W Owensboro,  Ky. 

Brantley,  W.  G Brunswick,  Ga. 

Breckinridge,  Hon.  William  C.  P. .  .Lexington,  Ky. 

Brenner,  G San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Briant,  Paul  H San  Angelo,  Tex. 

Brice,  J.  S Yorkville,  S.  C. 

Bridenbaugh,  W.  H Altoona,  Pa. 

Bridges,  W.  A Center,  Tex. 

Brock,  Cyrus  C Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Bronson,  Alice Wellsville,  N.  Y. 

Brooks,  W.  P.,  M.D Cook  Neb. 

Brougher,  E.  E Linden,  Tex. 

Brown,  Irving Haverstraw,  N.  Y. 

Brown,  J.  A ' Chadbourn,  N.  C. 

Brown,  James  L Oklahoma  City,  Okla. 

Brown,  James  R New  York  City 

ames  W Falls  Church,  Va. 

.  E Scottsboro,  Ala. 


Brown, 
Brown, 
Brown, 


)r.  J.  W Camden,  Ark. 

Brown,  M.    R Bellefontaine,    Ohio 

Brown,  Ralph  H Atlanta,  Ga. 

Browne,  Jefferson   B Key  West,   Fla. 

Browne,  Richard  H New  Orleans,  La. 

Browne,     Dr.  Walker  G Atlanta,  Ga. 

Brubaker,  Joseph  Stauffer Vinton,    Iowa 

Bruce,  George  W Pleasant  Hill,  Mo. 

Brumback,  Hon.  O.   S Toledo,   Ohio 

Bruyere,    Dr.   John Trenton,   N.   J. 

Bryan,     H.  A Ruthven,   Iowa 

Bryan,  John   D El   Paso,  Tex. 

Bryan,  R.  W.  D Albuquerque,  New  Mexico 

Buchman,  Edwin Valley  Falls,  N.   Y. 

Buckner,  James  H Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Budd,  J.  D.,  M.S.,  M.D Two  Harbors,  Minn. 

Budd,  William  N Bunker  Hill,  111. 

Burbank,  William    F Los    Angeles,    Cal. 

Burckhalter,  James  B Vinita,   I.   T. 

Burgess,  Edward  G Montclair,  N.  J. 

Burke,  Frank  B Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Burke,  John  F Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Burke,  Walter  J New  Iberia,   La. 

Burson,  George Winamac,  Ind. 

Burtt,    Henry   A Jeffersonville,  Ind. 

Bush,  Matthew Corunna,    Mich. 

Bushnell,  A.  R Madison,  Wis. 

Butler,  Sarah Cincinnati,     Ohio 

Butler,  William  J Springfield,   111. 

Butt,  I.  T Clarksdale,  Miss. 

Byrd,  R.   E Winchester,   Va. 

Byrne,  E.  J Austin,   Tex. 

Cadwallader,   A.    D Springfield,    111. 

Cahill,  John  H New  York  City 

Cain,  William  M David  City,   Neb. 

Calhoon,  Judge  S.   S Jackson,  Miss. 

Camp,  E.  T Gadsden,  Ala. 

Campbell,  Daniel West  New  Brighton,  N.  Y. 

Campbell,  Edward,  Jr Fairfield,   Iowa 

Carey,    Henry  W Eastlake,    Mich. 

Carmichael,  D.   W Sacramento,   Cal. 

Carr,  John Lincoln,    Neb. 

Carr,  Julian   S Durham,    N.    C. 

Carson,  J.  A.  G Savannah,  Ga. 

Carter,  A.    Edson Los  Angeles,    Cal. 


Carter,  F.  M.... 


.Farmington,  Mo. 


Carton,   James   D Asbury   Park,   N.    J. 

Carver,  Edwin   O Fitzhugh,    Fla. 

Carver,  M.   H Natchitoches,   La. 

Case,  Halbert  B Chattanooga,   Tenn. 

Cass,  J.    E Eau  Claire,   Wis. 

Castle,   Bryan  J Madison,  Wis. 

Caywood,  John Miles  City,  Mont. 

Cazier,  M.  H Chicago,   111. 

Cease,  D.  L Cleveland,  Ohio 

Chalkley,    John    W Big    Stone   Gap,   Va. 

Chambers,  David  W New  Castle,  Ind. 

Chambers,   Emmett Dallas,   Tex. 

Champlin,   John  W Grand  Rapids,   Mich. 

Chapman,  Oliver   J Breckinridge,    Mo. 

Charters,  W.  A Dahlonega,  Ga. 

Chase,  C.  C Covington,  Ky. 

Chidester,  Arthur  Mercer New  Waterford,  Ohio 

Chidester,  T.    Edwin Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Child,  James  E Waseca,   Minn. 

Chisholm,  W.  W Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Cissel,  W.  W.   L Highland,    Md. 

Clancy,  William Butte,  Mont. 

Clardy,  Martin  L St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Clark,  Ezra  W League  Island,  Pa. 

Clark,  Frank Jacksonville,    Fla. 

Clark,  Gibson Cheyenne,    Wyo. 

Clark,  Orlando  E Appleton,  Wis. 

Clark,  R.  S Eau  Claire,  Wis. 

Clark,  William  H .Daflas,  Tex. 

Clarke,  Enos Kirkwood,   Mo. 

Clarke,  James  T.,  M.D Mount  Solon,  Va. 

Clarke,  James  W East  Orange,  N.  J. 

Clarke,  Peyton  Neale Louisville,  Ky. 

Clay,  Rhodes Mexico,   Mo. 

Clay,  William  Lewis Huntsville,  Ala. 

Clement,  Charles   M Sunbury,  Pa. 

Clemson  Agricultural  College,  Clemson  College,  S.  C. 

Cleveland  Cider  Co Unionville,  Lake  Co.,  Ohio 

Clinch,  Edward  S New  York  City 

Closson,  James   Harwood,   M.D., 

Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Clute,  Lemuel Ionia,  Mich. 

Clute,  S.  R Montezuma,  Iowa 

Clyne,    Benjamin,    M.D Yale,    Mich. 

Cochran,   Rev.   F.  J Roxana,    Del. 

Cockrell,  Joseph   E Dallas,   Tex. 

Cohen,  Ira New  York  City 

Cohen,  Lewis Bloomsburg,    Pa. 

Colby  University   Library Waterville,   Me. 

Coleman,  Henry,  President  Nat'l  Business  College, 

Newark,  N.  J. 

Collier,  B.    K Etna   Mills,  Cal. 

Collier,  F.   S Hampton,  Va. 

Collier,  Thomas   A Jamestown,    Tenn. 

Collins,  Charles  H Hillsboro,  Ohio 

Collins.  John    T Rutherford,    N.   J. 

Collins,  Winfield  S Basin,  Wyo. 

Colton,  William  H Wapello,  Iowa 

Comstock,  C.   N Albany,    Mo. 

Condon,  John  T Seattle,  Wash. 

Condon,  William  H Chicago,  111. 

Coney,  P.  H Topeka,  Kan. 

Conkling,  Cook Rutherford,  N.  J. 

Conkling,  Newlan Norborne,  Mp. 

Connaughton,  J.  J Wapekoneta,  Ohio 

Connell,  J.  H College  Station,  Tex. 

Conover,  William   A Chicago  111. 

Conroy,   E.   M.,   M.D Ogden,   Utah 

Cook,  Benjamin  H.,  M.D Wilkinson,  Ind. 

Cook,  John  T Albany,   N.   Y. 

Cook,  Samuel  E Huntington,  Ind. 

Cooke,  J.   H Moultrie,   Ga. 

Cookinham,  D.  A.,  M.D Holton,  Kan. 

Coolidge,  T.    Jefferson Boston,    Mass. 

Cooper,  A.  W Forest,  Miss. 

Cooper,  H.  P Lebanon,  Ky. 

Cooper,  J.  M.   F.,   M.D Waterville,  Wash. 

Copeland,  Alfred  M Springfield,  Mass. 

Corbett,  William   P Detroit,    Mich. 

Corbin,  John New  Harmony,  Ind. 

Cosgrave,  George Fresno,  Cal. 

Coshocton  Free  School  Library Coshocton,  Ohio 

Costello,  S.    V San   Francisco,    Cal. 

Coulter,  J.  E Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Courtney,   Major  A.   R Richmond,  Va. 

Courtright,   Samuel  W.,   LL.D Circleville,   Ohio 

Courts,   Dr.  W.  J Reidsville,  N.  C. 

Covell,  A.   G Sykeston,  No.  Dak. 

Cowen,  Gen.   B.    R Cincinnati,   Ohio 

Cowdery,  J.  F San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Cowles,  George  M Monroe,  Iowa 

Cowper,  George Winston,  N.  C. 

Cox,  Henry  C La  Grange,  111. 

Cox,  Jefferson   D Claremore,    I.  T. 


LIST  OF  PATRONS 


xv 


Cox,  Jennings  S New  York   City. 

Cox,  Stephen  J New  York  City 

Crain,  Robert Baltimore,  Md. 

Crane,  Elvin  W Newark,   N.  J. 

Cranston,  John  A Alexandria,   Minn. 

Cravath,  E.  M Nashville,  Term. 

Cravath,  Paul  D New  York  City 

Cravens,  Robert  O Sacramento,  Cal. 

Crawford,  E.  C Oakdale,  Cal. 

Crawford,  Thomas  Olin Oakland,  Cal. 

Crocheron,  David  E New  York  City 

Crossland,    Samuel   H Mayfield,    Ky. 

Crouch,  B.  W Saluda,   S.  C. 

Crouch,  David  N Humphreys,  Mo. 

Crunden,  Frederick  M St.   Louis,  Mo. 

Cullen,  John  J Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Gumming,  Robert Peoria,    111. 

Cunningham,   Oliver  M South   Bend,   Ind. 

Cunningham,  W.  J Abilene,  Tex. 

Curd,  Thomas  N Richmond,  Va. 

Curdy,  Scott  Eugene Kingsley,  Mich. 

Curley,  John  J Rockaway  Beach,  N.   Y. 

Cussons,  John Glen  Allen,  Va. 

Dabney,  I.  T Bloomfield,  Iowa 

Dagg,  J.  L Vidalia,   La. 

Dalton,  James  L Poplar  Bluff,  Mo. 

Daly,  Peter  Francis New   Brunswick,   N.  J. 

Dalzell,    John Washington,    D.    C. 

Danforth,  C.   R Minonk,  111. 

Daniels,  Josephus Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Darden,  W.  M Speights  Bridge,  N.  C. 

Darlington,  Barton Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Darlington,  J.  J Washington,  D.  C. 

Davidson,  O.  C Commonwealth,  Wis. 

Davies,  William  Gilbert New  York  City 

Davis,  C.    E Deadwood,    S.   Dak. 

Davis,  Charles   E Madison,    Fla. 

Davis,  Ernest   M Camilla,    Ga. 

Davis,  William  L Canton,  Ohio 

Davispn,  Charles   Stewart New   York  City 

Dawkins,  Walter  I Baltimore,   Md. 

Dayton,  George  D Worthington,  Minn. 

Dean,  Claude  M Richmond,  Va. 

Dean,  Gerard  Q New  York  City 

Dean,  J.  A Owensboro,  Ky. 

Dean,  J.  R Broken  Bow,  Neb. 

Dean,  J.  R Woodward,  Okla. 

Dean,  S.   W Centerville,  Tex. 

Dean,  Walter  E San   Francisco,  Cal. 

Dechert,  Henry  M Philadelphia,  Pa. 

De  Haven,  John  J San  Francisco,  Cal. 

De  Lacy,  John  F Eastman)  Ga. 

Delery,   W.    S Houston,    Tex. 

Denmark,  Brantley  A Savannah,  Ga. 

Dent,  William   Hamilton Decorah,    Iowa 

Denton,   John   S Cookeville,   Tenn. 

Denver  Athletic   Club    Library Denver,   Colo. 

De  Pue,   E.   L Olivia,  Minn. 

Dersheimer,  C.  O Tunkhannock,  Pa. 

de  Steuben,  T.  J Jensen,  Fla. 

-Ueuel,  Joseph  M New  York  City 

Devecmon,  W.   C Cumberland,  Md. 

Devine,   Michael  A Atlantic   City,  N.  J. 

Devine,  Miles  J Chicago,  111 

Deweese,  B.    C Lexington,    Ky. 

De  Weese,  K.   McC Kansas  City,   Mb. 

Dierking,  John St.   Clair,    Mo. 

Diggs,  Annie  L Topeka,   Kan.< 

Diggs,  Rev.  P.  W Unity,  Va. 

Digney,  John  M White  Plains,  N.  Y. 

Diller,    Peter Bluffton,    Ohio 

Dillon,  Thomas  H Petersburg,  Ind. 

Dines,    Tyson   S Denver,    Colo. 

Dively,    A.    V Altoona,    Pa. 

Dixon,  Warren   Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Dixon,  W.  W Union,  S.  C. 

Dobbins,  W.    P Corinth,   Miss. 

Dockstader,  G.  W Cawker  City,  Kan. 

Dodd,  Amzi Newark,    N.  J. 

Dodge,  Frank   L Lansing,   Mich. 

Dodge,  Geo.   E Little  Rock,   Ark. 

Dodge,  Samuel   D Cleveland,   Ohio 

Dollard,  Robert Scotland,    S.    Dak. 

Domer,  S.  P Spokane,  Wash. 

Donahoe,  John  T Joliet,    111. 

Doocy,  Edward Pittsfield,  111. 

Dooley,  Edward  J Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Dorsey,  J.   S Columbia,    Mo. 

Dougherty,  J.   W Washington,   111. 

Douglas,  John  A New  York  City 

Douglass,  P.   A Danville,  Ark. 

Douglass,  Joshua Meadville,  Pa. 

Dowd,  Thomas  H Salamanca,   N.   Y. 

Dowling,  James  E Springfield,  111. 


Downing,  H.  H Front  Royal,  Va. 

Downing,  Thomas  J New   London,    Mo. 

Downs,  S.  A Mena,  Ark. 

Doyle,  Michael  J Green  Bay,  Wis. 

Drake,  Thomas Pierre,  S.  Dak. 

Draper,  A.  L Glenville,  Ohio 

Dressier,  Rev.  John  M Boelus,  Neb. 

Dreys,  Otto  L Delray,  Mich. 

Drinkle,  H.  C Lancaster,   Ohio 

Dudley,  James  G Paris,  Tex. 

Duffy,  Rodolph Catharine  Lake,  N.  C. 

Dunbar,  D.   C Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Duncan,  John  F Lewisburg,  Pa. 

Duncan,  John    M Tyler,   Tex. 

Duncan,  W.   C Columbus,   Ind. 

Dunford,  P.   P Montague,   Tex. 

Dunn,   Chauncey  H Sacramento,  Cal. 

Durand,  John  S New  York  City 

Durham,  T.   F Danville,   Ky. 

Durst,  George  M Thayer,  Mo. 

Dxttcher,    Frederick  L Rochester,  N.   Y. 

Dyer,   Elihu  B Saybrook,   111. 

Dygert,  George  B Butte,  Mont. 

Dykman,   William  N Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 


Eagan,  John  J Hoboken,  N.  J. 

'     •       'ames  J Seattle,  Wash. 

Eastham,  H.  C..... Baker  City,   Ore. 


Eastman,  Charles  H Nashville,  Tenn. 

Eaton,  Willard  L Osage,  Iowa 

Ebner,   F.   E Aitkin,    Minn. 

Echols,   John    Warnock Washington,    D.    C. 

Eckert,  O.  V Northwood,  Iowa 

Edmunds,    Earl Correction  ville,    Iowa 

Edwards,  Charles  W Bordentown,   N.   J. 

Edwards,  S.    B Pottsville,   Pa. 

Edwards,  T.  M.,  D.Ps Fortuna,  Cal. 

Egan,  John  F Sapulpa,  I.  T. 

Eggen,  J.  A Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Eickhoff,  Henry San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Einstein,   Louis Fresno,  Cal. 

Eldridge,  E.  R Chicago,  111. 

Eliel,   Adolph Dillon,   Mont. 

Ellegood,  James  E Salisbury,  Md. 

Elliott,  Frank  W Topeka,  Kan. 

Ellis,  G.  W Hattiesburg,  Miss. 

Ellis,  Matt   H Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Ellis,  O Uvalde,  Tex. 

Ellis,  Stephen  D Amite  City,  La. 

Ellison,  T.  E Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

Elver,  Elmore  Theodore Madison,  Wis. 

Embry,   James  H Washington,   D.   C. 

Emery,   George   D ..Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Emmert,  J.   M.,   M.D Atlantic,   Iowa 

English,  John  C Helena,  Mont. 

Ennes,  John  D Norfolk,  Va. 

Epes,  T.   Freeman Blackstone,   Va. 

Eskridge,  J.  T.,  M.D Denver,  Colo. 

Evans,   E.   G Des  Moines,   Iowa 

Evarts,  H.  P Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Everett,  Howard Terril,  Iowa 

Ewing,    Pressley  K Houston,   Tex. 

F.  &  C.  Co-operative  Co Fort  Gaines,  Ga. 

Falconer,  John — San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Falloon,    Edwin Falls   City,   Neb. 

Fanner,  Charles  H Walterboro,  S.  C. 

Fanning,  William  J New  York  City 

Farmer,  R.  J Detroit,   Mich. 

Farnham,  George  R Evergreen,  Ala. 

Farnsworth,  W.  H Sioux  City,  Iowa 

Farr,  Mark    C Chicago,    111. 

Farrar,  J.  H Groesbeeck,  Tex. 

Farrell,  Clinton   P New   York  City 

Farrell,  Rev.  W.  B Hempstead,  L.  L,  N.  Y. 

Farrelly,    Robert   W Washington,   D.    C. 

Faulkner,  Charles  J Martinsburg,   W.   Va. 

Faxon,   John   W Chattanooga,   Tenn. 

Featherston,  W.   B Cleburne,  Tex. 

Feliz,  F.  P Monterey,  Cal. 

Ferguson,  F.   S Birmingham,  Ala. 

Ferguson,  H.  G St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Ferris,  M.   J.    II New    York   City 

Ficke,  C.  A Davenport,  Iowa 

Field,  Frank   Harvey Brooklyn,    N.   Y. 

Field,  J.  H Dickinson,  N.  Dak. 

Filson,    Frank  M Cameron,  Mo. 

Finch,  A.  T.,  M.D Blacksburg,  Va. 

Finley,  D.  C Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Firehammer,  J.  H Alameda,  Cal. 

Fischer,    Frederick Brooklyn,    N.    Y. 

Fishback,  W.  II Laramie,  Wyo. 

Fisher.  William Pensacola,  Fla. 

Fitzgerald,   H.   R Danville,  Va. 

Fitzgerald,  John   E New  York  City 

Fitz-Randolph,   Leslie Nortonville,   Kan. 


xvi 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


Flagg,  John  H New  York  City 

Fleming,  Hon.  William  H Augusta,   Ga. 

Fletcher,  A.   S Huntsville,  Ala. 

Fletcher,  James   H.,   Jr Accomack   C.    H.,   Va. 

Fletcher,  R.  D Titusville,  Pa. 

Flournoy,   George,  Jr Bakersfield,  Cal. 

Floyd,  G.    S Waterville,    Wash. 

Foley,  Hamilton,  U.S.A 

Foley,  Paul,   U.S.N 

Follett,  A.  D Marietta,  Ohio 

Ford,  Charles  M Denver,  Colo. 

Fordyce,  John Weyauwega,   Wis. 

Foster,  E.  Agate,  M.D Patchogue,  L.  I.,  N.  Y. 

Foster,  Samuel  M Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 

Fox,  Hon.  A.   F West  Point,  Miss. 

Frank,  Henry New  York  City 

Frankenheimer,  John New  York  City 

Franklin,  David,  M.D New  York  City 

Freeman,  W.   R Denver,  Colo. 

French,  D.  E Keystone,  W.  Va. 

French,  E.   L Lancaster,    Mo. 

Frick,  J.   E Salt   Lake   City,   Utah 

Frost,  A.  C Chicago,  111. 

Frost,  E.  Allen Chicago,  111. 

Fuller,  Judge   Ceylon  Canfield Big   Rapids    Mich. 

Fuller,  Edward  M.,  M.D Chicago,  111. 

Fuller,  T.  A San  Antonio,  Tex. 

Funk,  M.   P Rantoul,  111. 

Furlong,   Henry  J New  York  City 

Gaffney,  F.  O Lake  City,  Mich. 

Gage,   George  W Chester,   S.  C. 

Gail  Borden  Public  Library Elgin,  111. 

Gaither,   Charles  A Erie,    Pa. 

Galloway,  Charles  V Park  Place,   Ore. 

Garcin,  Ramon  D.,  M.D Richmond,  Va. 

Gardner,  Lawrence Washington,    D.    C. 

Gardner,  Levi Atlanta,    N.    Y. 

Garman,  John   M Nanticoke,   Pa. 

Garner,  James  W Kansas   City,   Mo. 

Garth,  Col.  William  Willis Huntsville,  Ala. 

Gates,  Theodore  B Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 

Gaylord,  Samuel  A St.   Louis,  Mo. 

Gearhart,  Cicero • Stroudsburg,  Pa. 

Gehrz,  Gustave  G Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Center,  E.  W Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

George,  James  A Deadwood,  S.  Dak. 

Gibbes,  Heyward  M Jerome,  Ariz. 

Gibbes,  Hunter  A Columbia,  S.  C. 

Gibbons,  James  E Purcell,  I.  T. 

Gibson,  T.  B McColl,  S.  C. 

Gibson,  William    F San    Francisco,    Cal. 

Gillan,   George   C Lexington,    Neb. 

Gillespie,   George  W Tazewell,  Va. 

Gillespie,  John  F Pine   Bluff,  Ark. 

Ginter,   H.   E Du  Bois,   Pa. 

Gleason,  Orton  W Detroit,  Mich. 

Gleason,  P Le  Roy,  N.  Y. 

Godsman,   P.   B Burlington,   Colo. 

Goeke,    J.   H Wapakoneka,    Ohio 

Goeschel,    Louis Bay   City,    Mich. 

Goldberg,   Abraham New    Orleans,    La. 

Goodding,  Roscoe  E La  Plata,  Mo. 

Goode,  George  W Grangeville,  Idaho 

Goodnight,  I.  H Franklin,   Ky. 

Gordon,  Wellington Columbia,  Mo. 

Goss.  D.  F Seymour,  Tex. 

Gould,   Will   D Los   Angeles,    Cal. 

Goulder,  Holding  &   Masten Cleveland,    Ohio 

Gourley,  William  B Paterson,   N.   J. 

Gow,  John  R Bellaire,  Ohio 

Graham,  W.  H Uniontown,  Pa. 

Grant,  Bishop  A Philadelphia.  Pa. 

Grant,  M.  R Meridian,   Miss. 

Grason,  William Towson,  Md. 

Graves,  Alvin  M Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Graves,  Ernest San   Luis  Obispo,   Cal. 

Graves,  Hamilton Roanoke,    Va 

Gray,  Alfred  W Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Graybill,  Capt.  George York,  Pa. 

Grayston,  W.  E Joplin,   Mo. 

Greaves,  Charles  D ,...Hot  Springs,  Ark. 

Greble,  H.  K Hamilton,  Ohio 

Green,  Henry  D Reading,   Pa. 

Greenburg,  Rev.  Dr.  William  H Sacramento,  Cal. 

Greene,  Thomas  G Portland,  Ore. 

Greenfield,  Leo New  York  City 

Greenway,  J.  Henry Havre  de  Grace,  Md". 

Greenwood,  A.  G Palestine,  Tex. 

Greenwood,  Frederick Norfolk,  Va. 

Greer,  H.  H Mount  Vernon,  Ohio 

Gregory,    James    P Louisville,    Ky. 

Griffiths,  G.  Charles Chicago,  111. 

Grimes,   H.   H Lincoln,   Neb. 

Grosshans,  Frank  E East  Liverpool,  Ohio 


Group,  John   W Rauchtown,   Pa. 

Grout,  Edward  M Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Guerin,  Claude  V Asbury  Park,  N.  J. 

Guerry,   Du  Pont Macon,  Ga. 

Guerry,  Homer Washington,  D.  C. 

Guigon,  A.  B Richmond,  Va. 

Guilfoyle,  Frank  J Syracuse,  N.   Y. 

Gunn,  Julien Richmond,  Va. 

Gunnell,  W.  M Marlin,  Tex. 

Gustavus,  C.  D Oakwoods,  Tex. 

Guthrie,  Ben  Eli Macon,  Mo. 

Guthrie,  William  A Durham    N    C 

Hackney,  Edward  T Wellington,   Kan. 

Hager,  John  F Ashland,  Ky. 

Haggan,  Rodney Winchester,  Ky. 

Haire,  Col.  R.  J New  York  City 

Halderman,  Grant  E Longmont,  Colo. 

Hale,  Hon.  Horace  M Denver,   Colo. 

Hale,  Morris Hot  Springs,  Ala. 

Hale,  S.  J Milner,  Ga. 

Hall,  Anthony Paris,    Ark. 

Hall,  Charles  S Binghamton,   N.  Y. 

Hall,  Dr.  D.  H Pikeville,  Tenn. 

Hall,  R.  W Vernon,  Tex. 

Hall,  William  Roland Houston,  Miss. 

Halligan,  John  J North  Platte,  Neb. 

Ham,  H.  W.  J Gainesville,  Ga. 

Hamby,  C.  C Prescott,  Ark. 

Hamill,    F.  P Temple,  Tex. 

Hamilton,  Gen.    E.    B Quincy,    111. 

Hamlin,  Byron  D Smethport,  Pa. 

Hammersley,   H Cleveland,    Ohio 

Hammond,  George  T Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Hammond,  J.  T Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Hammond,  Dr.  Robert  L Woodsboro,  Md. 

Hampson,  J.  K.,  M.D Nodena,  Ark. 

Hampton,  Charles  D El  Reno,  Okla.  T. 

Hampton,  Charles   S Detroit,  Mich. 

Hampton,  William  Wade Gainesville,  Fla. 

Hansbrough,   Hon.  Henry  C Washington,   D.  C. 

Hanson,  Dr.  T.  C Winnemucca,  Nev. 

Harden,  Alfred  D New   York  City 

Harding,  Gilbert  N Lacona,  N.  Y. 

Hardman,  Rev.  A.  L Natchez,  Miss. 

Harmon,  Gilbert Toledo,  Ohio 

Harne,  j.  Lee New  Martinsville,  W.  Va. 

Harper,  P.    L Wallace,  Neb. 

Harrington,  M.  F O'Neill,  Neb. 

Harris,  A.  A Duluth,   Minn. 

Harris,  James  C Sheffield,  Ala. 

Harris,  John  T Harrisonburg,  Va. 

Harrison  &  Long Lynchburg,   Va. 

Hart,    E.    H San   Francisco,   Cal. 

Hartigan,  M.  A Hastings,   Neb. 

Hartjen,  John Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Hartman,  J.  H Claflin,  Kan. 

Harvey,  Edwin  Clinton New  York  City 

Hatcher,  E.  H Columbia,  Tenn. 

Hatfield,  Charles  S Clifton,  Ohio 

Hatton,   Goodrich Portsmouth,  Va. 

Haviland,  C.  Augustus Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Hawkins,  A.  S Midland,  Tex. 

Hawkins,  J.  E Langlois,  Ore. 

Hawkins,  John   J Prescott,    Ariz. 

Hawley,  David Yonkers,  N.  V, 

Hayes,  George  B New  York  Citj 

Hayes,  John  E New  York  City 

Hayman,  L.  H.,  M.D Boscobel,  Wis. 

Haynie,  William  Duff Chicago,  111. 

Head,  J.  C Richmond,  Ark. 

Heagany,  Richard Hartford  City,  Ind. 

Heath,  Thomas  T Cincinnati,  Ohio 

Heatley,  Thomas  W Cleveland,  Ohio 

Heaton,  Willis  Edgar Hoosick  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Hebroy,  J.   L.,   Jr Leland,    Miss. 

Hedden,  C.  P Irvington,  N.  J. 

Heffelfinger,  Jacob Hampton,  Va. 

Heinly,  Harvey  F Reading,  Pa. 

Heiskell,    S.    G Knoxville,    Tenn. 

Held,  W.  D.  L Ukiah,  Cal. 

Hemmeter,    John  C Cleveland,    Ohio 

Hemphill,  John  J Washington,  D.  C. 

Hendrick,  C.  C Jersey  City,  N.  J. 

Henkel,  Vernon  A Farmersville,  Ohio 

Henry,  John  N Champlin,  Minn. 

Hensler,  Gus Anacortes,  Wash. 

Hermann,  Dr.    G.   J Newport,    Ky. 

Hero,  William  S New  Orleans,  La. 

Hewitt,  Hon.  Abram   S New  York  City 

Hewitt,  Robert  A.,  Jr Maysyille,  Mo. 

Hibbard,    Bertrand    Lesly Monroeville,   Ala. 

Hickey,   W.   H.,   M.D Leipslc,    Ohio 

Hickok,   S.  J Canton,   Pa. 

Higgins,  W.  E La  Porte,   Ind. 


LIST  OF  PATRONS 


xvii 


Higginson,  O.  F Needles,  Cal. 

Hildebrand,    Edward New    York    City 

Hildebrand,    H.    E San   Antonio,   Tex. 

Hildreth,  Melvin   A Fargo,    N.    Dak. 

Hill,  Ex-Gov.   David  B Albany,  N.   Y. 

Hill    H.  W.,   M.D Mooresville,  Ala. 

Hill,  James  W Peoria,   111. 

Hill,  Joseph  M Fort  Smith,  Ark. 

Hill,  W.    D Defiance,    Ohio 

Hilton,  Charles  S Clarksburg,   Md. 

Hilton,  George Oshkosh,  W  is. 

Himes,   George  W Shippensburg,   Pa. 

Hinckley,  J.    F Sapulpa,    I.    T. 

Hine,  Willis  G Savannah,  Mo. 

Hines,  Fletcher  S Malatt  Park,   Ind. 

Hines,  James  D Bowling  Green,  Ky. 

Hinson,  William  G James  Island,   S.  C. 

Hite,   W.  W Louisville,    Ky. 

Hitt,   Orlando Mexico,   Mo. 

Hobbs,  J.  W Nineveh,  N.  Y. 

Hobson,  F.   G Norristown,   Pa. 

Hoffman,  George  W Boonsbpro,   Md. 

Hoffmann,  L.  O Price,  Utah 

Holcomb,  O.  R Ritzville,  Wash. 

Holcomb,  Ex-Gov.   Silas  A Lincoln,   Neb. 

Holding,  S.  H Cleveland,  Ohio 

Holihan,  John Auburn,   N.   Y. 

Holland,  L.  T.,  M.D Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Holliday,  W.    H Laramie,   Wyo. 

Hollister,  W.    R Monticello,    Mo. 

Holman,   J.    H Fayetteville,  Tenn. 

Holmes,  D.  A Chicago,  111. 

Holmes,  John  T Detroit,  Mich. 

Holmes,  J.  T Columbus,  Ohio 

Hood,  R.    B Weatherford,  Tex. 

Hooper,  George  J Richmond,  Va. 

Hooper,  P.    O.,    M.D Little    Rock,    Ark. 

Hooper  &  Hooper Oshkosh,  Wis. 

Hoos,  Hon.  Edward Jersey  City,   N.  J. 

Hoover,  S.  S Elkhart,  Ind. 

Hopkins,  J.   G Hampstead,  Albemarle   Co.,   Va. 

Hopper,    P.    L Havre  de    Grace,    Md. 

Hopwood,  R.  F Uniontown,  Pa. 

Horton,  Hiler  H St.    Paul,   Minn. 

Horton,  H.  M Midland,  Tex. 

Hoskins,  H.  C Madera,  Cal. 

Houser,  Frederick  W Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Howard,  Josiah Emporium,   Pa. 

Howard,  W.  A.,  M.D Waco,  Tex. 

Hoyt,  Dr.    Frank   C Mt.   Pleasant,    Iowa 

Hubbert,  George Neosho,  Mo. 

Huber,  A.   H Westminster,   Md. 

Hudson,  F.   M Pine  Bluff,   Ark. 

Hudson,  Less.  L Fort  Worth,  Tex. 

Hudson,  T.  J Fredonia,  Kan. 

Hug,  Edward  V.,  M.D Lprain,  Ohio 

Hughes,  Adrian Baltimore,  Md. 

Hughes,  Charles  J.,    Tr Denver,    Colo. 

Hughes,  C.    W.,    M.D Eleanor,    Pa. 

Hughes,  L.   C.  ..../• Tucson,  Ariz. 

Hull,  John   M....1 Cleveland,   Ohio 

Humes,   Milton Huntsville,  Ala. 

Humphrey,  J.   O Springfield,    111. 

Humphries,  W.  A Portland,  Ind. 

Hunt,  C.  C Montezuma,  Iowa 

Hunter,  Henry  B Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Hunter,  Peter Eddystone,  Pa. 

Hunter,  Sam  J Fort  Worth,  Tex. 

Huntington,  D.  W.   C Lincoln,  Neb. 

Huntington,  R.    M Hot   Springs,   Ark. 

Hurley,    Rev.    John    A Emerald,    Kan. 

Hurst,  Elmore    W Rock    Island,    111. 

Hutchings,  William  T Muscogee,  I.  T. 

Hutter,  C.  S Lynchburg,  Va. 

Hutton,  A.  W Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Hyde,  G.  W.,   M.D Clinton,   111. 

Hyde,  W.   L Buchanan,  Va. 

Hyland,  Judge  M.  H San  Jose,  Cal. 

Inches,  Dr.  James  W St.  Clair,  Mich. 

Ingersoll,  Henry  H Knoxville,  Tenn. 

Irwin,  Charles Kingston,  N.  Y. 

Israel,  G.  C Olympia,  Wash. 

Itell,  Thomas  J Johnstown,  Pa. 

Jackson,  E.   G Hoboken,   N.   J. 

Jackson,  George  P.  B St.    Louis,   Mo. 

Jackson,  J.  K.  P Margaretville,  N.  Y. 

Jacobs,  J.    H Reading,    Pa. 

James,  C.  F.,  D.D Danville,  Va. 

James,  H.   Clay Huntsville,   Tenn. 

Janes,    F.   P.,    M.D .....Lake    Creek,   Tex. 

Jarvis,  George  J Faulkton,  S.  Dak. 

Jelleff,  A.   C Ripon,   Wis. 

Jenkins,  C.    H Brownwood,    Tex. 

Jenkins,  J.   C MarysvilJe,   Cal. 


enkins,  John  J Chippewa  Falls,   Wis. 

ennings,  Hyde Fort  Worth,  Tex. 

cnnings,  T.   A Tampa,    Fla. 

eter,  W.  M Dumas,  Tex. 

ewett,  F.  T San  Francisco,  Cal. 

ewks,  George  A Brookville,   Pa. 

ohanson,  Fritz Chinook,  Wash. 

ohn,  Samuel  Will Birmingham,  Ala. 

ohns,  John  E Massillon,  Ohio 

ohnson,  Alvin  J Knoxville,  Tenn. 

ohnson,  Clyde  B St.   Mary's,  W.   Va. 

ohnson,  Ex-Gov.  Charles  P St.  Louis,  Mo. 

ohnson,  David  M.,  Jr Chester,  Pa. 

ohnson,  Francis Little  Rock,  Ark. 

ohnson,  Greene  F Monticello,  Ga. 

ohnson,  James Pittsburg,   Pa. 

ohnson,  Mrs.  James  V Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

ohnson,  J.  B Nevada,  Mo. 

Johnson,  J.  B Des  Moines,  Iowa 

Johnson,  J.  M Hillsboro,  Tex. 

Johnson,  John  G Peabody,  Kan. 

Johnson,  L.  H Eureka,  Kan. 

Johnson,  Owens Brunswick,  Ga. 

Johnson,  Col.  R.  M Elkhart,  Ind. 

Johnson,  Thomas  M Osceola,  Mo. 

Johnson,  W.  Carter Louisville,  Ky. 

Johnston,  H.  M Fresno,  Cal. 

Jolly,  George  W Owensboro,  Ky. 

"ones,  Benjamin  O Metropolis,  111. 

ones,  Daniel  M Anson,  Tex. 

ones,  Dr.   H.  C Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. 

ones,  James  C St.    Louis,  Mo. 

ones,  James  H Henderson,  Tex. 

ones,  J.  Dunlop Grayson,  Ky. 

ones,  L.  A Como,   Miss. 

ones,  Richard  A St.   Louis,  Mo. 

ones,  Richmond  L Reading,  Pa. 

ones,  Ricy    H Brigham    City,    Utah 

ones,  W.   H Riverside,  Iowa 

ones,  William    H.,    M.D Bethlehem,    Pa. 

ones,  William  Jarvis Chicago,   111. 

ordan,  Judge  James  H Martinsville,   Ind. 

ordan,  J.  Eugene Seattle,  Wash. 

ordan,  Warren  S Peekskill,  N.  Y. 

ordin,  J.  F Gallatin,  Mo. 

udd,  John  W Nashville,  Tenn. 

^ane,  M.  N Warwick,  N.  Y. 

Keast,  Alderman  J.  W St.  John,  N.  B. 

Keenan,  S.  A Clark,  S.  Dak. 

Keene,  John  Henry Baltimore,  Md. 

Keffer,  J.  L Dunbar,  Pa. 

Reiser,  C.  W Hazleton,  Pa. 

Keizer,  Lewis  R Baltimore,  Md. 

Keller,  John  W New  York  City 

Kelley,  Marshall  C Muskegon,  Mich. 

Kellogg,  A.  C Portage,  Wis. 

Kellogg,  Frank  E Goleta,  Cal. 

Kelly,  B.  A Benton,  La. 

Kelly,  Frank  P San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Kelly,  James  R San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Kelly,  John  T Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Kelso,  A.  W Grant  City,  Mo. 

Kelton,  W.  H.  S Alvarado,  Tex. 

Kenfield,  William  F Woonsocket,  S.  Dak. 

Kennedy,  Hon.  A.  M Mexia,  Tex. 

Kennedy,  Crammond Alpine,  N.  J. 

Kennedy,  James  L Greensburg,  Pa. 

Kent,  Henry  T St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Kent,  Volney Marshalltown,  Iowa 

Kern,  John  W Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Kern,  R.  H St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Kerr,  Charles Lexington,  Ky. 

Keyes,  W.  S San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Kidd,  Gideon  P.,  M.D Roann,  Ind. 

Kilbourne,  James Columbus,  Ohio 

Killebrew,  J.  B Nashville,  Tenn. 

Kimbrough,  E.  R.  E Danville,  111. 

King,  Henry  B Augusta,  Ga. 

King,  Col.  H.  M Evergreen,  Ala. 

King,  John  C Baltimore,  Md. 

King,  J.  W Kittanning,  Pa. 

King,  Wilbur  E Columbus,  Ohio 

Kingsbury,  S.  B Boise,  Idaho 

Kinne,  James  G Ft.  Edward,  N.  Y. 

Kirkpatrick,  J.  M Dodge  City,  Kan. 

Kissick,  W.  A Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Kitts,  Charles  W Grass  Valley,  Cal. 

Klaas,  Albert  R Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Klar,  A.  Julian Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Klein,  Alfred Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Kleberg,  Robert  J Corpus  Christi,  Tex. 

KHnedinst,  David  P York,  Pa. 

Klugh,  James  C Abbeville,  S.  C. 

Kluttz,  Theodore  F Salisbury,  N.  C. 


xviii 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN    CYCLOPEDIA 


Knapp,  F.  M Racine,  Wis. 

Knappe,  W,  Trevitt,  M.D Vincennes,  Ind. 

Knight,  George    A Brazil,    Ind. 

Knight,  R.   Huston Los  Angeles,   Cal. 

Knoebel,   Thomas East   St.    Louis,   111. 

Knox,  Chris  L Corsicana,  Tex. 

Knox,  J.  W Merced,  Cal. 

Knudson,  Charles  O Canton,  S.  Dak. 

Kocher,    Charles  F Newark,    N.   J. 

Koepke,  Charles  A Chicago,  111. 

Kontz,  Ernest  C Atlanta,  Ga. 

Koontz,  J.  B Washington  C.  H.,  Ohio 

Koontz,  J.  R Ansted,  W.  Va. 

Krebs,  David  L Clearfield,  Pa. 

Kroeer,  Lewis Sheffield,  Pa. 

Kruttschnitt,  E.  B New  Orleans,  La. 

Krum,    Chester St.    Louis,    Mp. 

Kryder,  John  F Alliance,  Ohio 

La   Buy,    M.   A Chicago,    111. 

Lackland,  H.  C St.  Charles,  Mo. 

La  Due,  A Mt.   Dora,   Fla. 

La  Force,  William  N Portland,  Ore. 

Lake,  Lewis  F Rpckford,   111. 

Lake,  Luther  E Huntingdon,  Ark. 

Lamar,  J.   R Augusta,   Ga. 

Lamb,  Edwin  M Butte,  Mont. 

Lambert,   Stenson,   M.D Owensboro,   Ky. 

Lambeth,  J.    T Lambethville,   Ark. 

Lamoreaux,   Frank  B Stevens  Point,  Wis. 

Lamson,  John  D.  R Toledo,  Ohio 

Landes,  S.   Z Mt.    Carmel,  111. 

Landis,  William   P Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Lansden,  John  M Cairo,   111. 

Lapp,   J.    E Cincinnati,    Ohio 

Larkins,  Rev.  S.  C Long  Creek,  N.  C. 

Lamer,  John  B Washington,  D.  C. 

Larrazolo,  O.   R Las  Vegas,  New  Mexico 

Latham,    W.    H Curtis,    Neb. 

Laughlin,  Randolph St.   Louis,  Mo. 

Laurence,  Howard  E Brooklyn,   N.  Y. 

Lawson  McGhee  Library Knoxville,  Tenn. 

Lawther,  Henry  P Dallas,  Tex. 

Lawyer,  George Albany,  N.   Y. 

Lay,   W.   P .' Gadsden,  Ala. 

Leber,    Henry Oakland,   Cal. 

Lee,  Prof.  Duncan  Campbell,  Cornell  University, 

Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Lee,  Harry  H Denver,  Colo. 

Lee,  N.   L Junction   City,   Ore. 

Leek,  Rev.  John  D Dixon,  111. 

Leeper,  A.  B.,  Ad'jt  Gen'l.,  G.A.A.V.,  Owaneco,  111. 

Lees,  Robert Alma,  Wis. 

Leffler,  John,    M.D San    Francisco,    Cal. 

Lehmayer,  Martin Baltimore,  Md. 

Leigh,  A.,   A.M.,   M.D.,   F.R.M.S... Hiawatha,    Kan. 

Lentz,  Hon.  John  J Columbus,  Ohio 

Leonard,  Charles  R Butte,  Mont. 

Leonard,  H.  B Yoakum,  Tex. 

Leslie,  Preston  H Helena,  Mont. 

Lester,  Ruf us  E Savannah,  Ga. 

Letcher,  Greenlee  D Lexington,  Va. 

Levagood,    M.    H Elyria,    Ohio 

Levis,  G.  W Madison,  Wis. 

Lewis,  Rev.    Barney  W Chunkey,    Miss. 

Lewis,  H.   Claude Salt   Lake   City,  Utah 

Lewis,  Dr.  John  V Alliance,   Ohio 

Lewis,  Lyman  W Kewanee,    111. 

Lewis,  Dr.  Walter Decatur,  Neb. 

Libby,  M.  D El  Reno,  Okla.  T. 

Liebig,   G.    M Sparrow's   Point,    Md. 

Lienesch,  T.  H Dayton,  Ohio 

Lightfoot,   Henry  W Paris,   Tex. 

Lindsey,  S.  A Tyler,  Tex. 

Line,  Benajah  A.,  M.D Alexandria,  Ind. 

Lippmann,  Leopold  J New  York  City 

Litz,  A.   W Charleston,   111. 

Livingston,  Alfred  T.,    M.D Jamestown,    N.    Y. 

Livingston,  Hon.  J.   B Lancaster,  Pa. 

Livingston,  John  Henry Tivoli-on-Hudson,  N.  Y. 

Locker,  W.  H Waynesville,  Mo. 

Lockett,  John  W Henderson,  Ky. 

Lodge,  J.  C Waverly,  Wash. 

Logan.  D.   B Pineville,   Ky. 

Logan,  J.   A Kingman,  Ariz. 

Lomax,  Tennent Montgomery,  Ala. 

Long,  Eugene  R Batesville,  Ark. 

Long,  George  S Troy,  Ohio 

Long,  J.  Grier Spokane,  Wash. 

Long,  Solomon  L Grenola,    Kan. 

Long,  Theodore  K Chicago,  111. 

Longan,  Edward  Everett St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Longfelder,  David Wabash,  Ind. 

Lonigo,  E.  V Jackson,  Cal. 

Lookabaugh,  I.   H Watonga,   Okla.  T. 


Looney,  R.  H Colorado,  Tex. 

Loucks,  Zachariah  Kepner Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Love,  J.  King,  M.D Yardley,  Pa. 

Low,  M.  A Topeka,   Kan. 

Lowden,  Frank  Orren Chicago,  111. 

Lowe,  J.  M Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Lowe,  Robert   J Birmingham,   Ala. 

Lowenberg,  Harry   L Norfolk,   Va. 

Lower,  J.  C Cleveland,  Ohio 

Lowry,  T.   C Richmond,  Ky. 

Lozier,  Ralph  F Carrpllton,  Mo. 

Lubers,  H.  L Las  Animas,  Colo. 

Lucas,  J.  T Moshannon,  Pa. 

Lucking,  Alfred Detroit,    Mich. 

Ludlow,  James  M.,  D.D.,  L.H.D..E.  Orange,  N.  J. 

Ludwig,  Henry  T.   J Mt.    Pleasant,   N.  C. 

Ludwig,  John  H New  York  City 

Luf,  Charles  B New  York  City 

Lumbard,  Samuel  J Chicago,  111. 

Lykins,   Joseph   C Campton,   Ky. 

Lyman,  J.  P Grinnell,  Iowa 

Lynch,  Martin  P.,  LL.B Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Lynham,  J.  Arthur Washington,  D.  C. 

Lyter,  M.  M Great  Falls,  Mont. 

McAtee,  Judge  John  L Enid,  Okla. 

McCarren,  P.    H Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 

McCarthy,  C.  C Grand  Rapids,  Minn. 

McCarthy,  John   Henry New   York  City 

McCarty,  A.  P Bronte,  Tex. 

McCarty,  Homer Monroe,    Utah 

McCaskill,  J.  M Rison,  Ark. 

McComas,  George  J Huntington,   W.    Va. 

McCoy,  Benjamin Oskaloosa    Iowa 

McCoy,  D.  W.  F New  York  City 

McCoy  John  W Fairmont,   W.   Va. 

McCravy,  S.  T Spartanburg,  S.  C. 

McCullock,  P.  D Marianus,  Ark. 

McCully,  H.    G Jersey   City,    N.    L 

McDaniel,  P.  A Abbeville,  Ala. 

McDavitt,   J.    C Memphis,   Tenn. 

McDermot,  R.   B Coshocton,  Ohio 

McDonald,  Tames  H Detroit,  Mich. 

McDonald,  J.  H Cedar  City,  Utah 

McDowell,  John  A Millersburg,  Ohio 

McElligott,  Thomas  G Chicago,  111. 

McGoorty,  John  P Chicago,  111. 

McGowan,  P.  J Astoria,  Ore. 

McGrath,  Robert  H Philadelphia,  Pa. 

McGraw,  E.  W San  Francisco,  Cal. 

McGraw,  John  T Grafton,  W.  Va. 

McGuffey,  John  G Columbus,  Ohio 

McGuire,  John  C Brooklyn,  N.   Y. 

McHolland   (Miss)   B Durango,   Colo. 

Mcllwaine,   C.    R Knoxville,  Tenn. 

Mcllwaine,  William  B Petersburg,  Va. 

Mclntyre,  John  F New  York  City 

Mclntyre,  William  J Riverside,    Cal. 

McKeighan,  J.   E St.  Louis,  Mo. 

McKinley,  H.  C Gaylord,   Mich. 

McKnight,  William  F Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

McLaughlin,  I.  W Macedon,  N.  Y. 

McLaughlin.  W.    L Deadwood,    S.    Dak. 

McLean,  W.    T.,    M.D.,    D.D.S Cincinnati,    Ohio 

McMahon,  Charles  C Fulton,  111. 

McMahon,  J.    K Chicago,   111. 

McMahon,  Richard  Randolph, 

Harper's    Ferry,   W.   Va. 

McMackin,  John Albany,  N.  Y. 

McMillan,  F.   H Atlanta,   Ga. 

McMorrow,  M Brazil,  Ind. 

McNair,  A.  C Brookhaven,  Miss. 

McNamara,  James  J Baltimore,   Md. 

McNamara,  John  W Albany,  N.  Y. 

McNamee,  F.    R Delamar,    Nev. 

McNaughton,  D.  W • Boardman,  N.  C. 

McNiel,  Dr.  W.  N Longfield,  Va. 

McPheeters,  James Benton,  Mo. 

McRae,  A.  J West  Superior,  Wis. 

McRae,  Thomas  C Prescott,  Ark. 

McMurray,  J.  L Tacoma,  Wash. 

McSherry,  Tames Frederick,    Md. 

McWilliams,  Howard New  York  City 

McWilliams,  J.   K Sunbury,  Pa. 

MacDougall,  R.  S Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Mackenzie,   John  R.,   M.D Weatherford,  Tex. 

Mackey,  C.  H Sigourney,  Iowa 

Mackey,  Robert  K New  York  City 

MacPhail,  Donald  T.,  M.D Purdy  Sta.,  N.  Y. 

Macquarrie,  Neil  A Jackson,  Cal. 

MacRae,  Donald Wilmington,    N.   C. 

Macomber,  Charles  S Ida  Grove,  Iowa 

Madden,  Charles  J Tennille,  Ga. 

Magee,  Judge  Christopher Pittsburg.    Pa. 

Maloney,  Thomas Ogden,  Utah 


LIST  OF  PATRONS 


xix 


Mann,  Edgar  P Greenfield,  Mo. 

Mapes,  Dorchester Chicago,    111. 

Markey,   Edward  J Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 

Marsh,  Craig  A Plainfield,  N.   J. 

Marsh,  E.  J Big  Rapids,  Mich. 

Marshall,  Linus  R Springfield,   Ohio 

Martin,  I.    L Uvalde,  Tex. 

Martin,  John   Burlington Covington,   Ind. 

Martin,  Lyman  W Scale,  Ala. 

Martine,  Hon.  Godfrey  R.,  M.D.. Glens  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Marvin,  Charles Elmira,    N.   Y. 

Marvin,  D.  P Woodward,  Okla. 

Marvin,  John  L Jacksonville,  Fla. 

Mason,  F.  O Geneva,   N.  Y. 

Mason,  Tames   H Brooklyn,   N.  Y. 

Mason,  P.  G Le  Roy,  N.  Y. 

Masters,  Edgar  L Chicago,  111. 

Mathews.  Thomas  J Merrill,   Wis. 

Matoon,  Charles  M.,  M.D Brookville,  Pa. 

Mattes,  John,   Jr Nebraska  City,   Neb. 

Matthews,  W.    B Washington,   D.   C. 

Maulsby,  Israel  T Tillamook  City,  Ore. 

May,  S.  D Tazewell,  Va. 

Maybury,  Hon.  William  C Detroit,  Mich. 

Means,  George  W Brookville,  Pa. 

Medill,  Thomas  J Rock  Island,   111. 

Meek,  J.  F Coshocton,  Ohio 

Mercantile  Library St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Merchant,  Edward   L Horatio,  Ark. 

Meredith,  Milo Wrabash,   Ind. 

Merrill,  John   B Long  Island  City,   N.   Y. 

Metcalf,  "Arthur  A.,  M.D Dunbar,  Wis. 

Millar,  A.  C Conway,  Ark. 

Miller,  B.  S Columbus,  Ga. 

Miller,  Dewitt Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Miller,  George  Knox Talladega,  Ala. 

Miller,  Jacob    F New    York   City 

Miller,  James  R Watertown,  N.  Y. 

Miller,  John  A.,  M.D San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Miller,  John  D Susquehanna,  Pa. 

Miller,  Mary  E Chicago,  111. 

Million,  E.  C Mt.  Vernon,  Wash. 

Mills,  W.  P Sidney,  Neb. 

Milner,  J.  Cooper Vernon,  Ala. 

Minor,  F.   D Galveston,   Tex. 

Mitchell,  Edward   P New   York  City 

Mitchell,  R.  C Duluth,  Minn. 

Momsen,  John Mt.  Vernon,  S.   Dak. 

Monahan,  Patrick   W Red   Cliff,   Colo. 

Monjeau,  C Middletown,  Ohio 

Monnette,  O.   E Bucyrus,  Ohio 

Monroe,  Chilton Dallas,   Tex. 

Monroe,  Henry   S Chicago,   111. 

Monroe.  Robert  W Kingwood,  W.  Va. 

Montandon,  A.   F Boise  City,   Idaho 

Moon,  George  C New  York  City 

Mooney,  John  H New  York  City 

Mooney,  William   Joliet,  111. 

Moore,  A.  C.,  M.D North  Amherst,   Ohio 

Moore,  Felix  W Union  City,  Tenn. 

Moore,  Frank  N Chicago,  111. 

Moore,  M.    Herndon Columbia,    S.    C. 

Moran,  Dr.  James New  York  City 

Moroney,  John  F Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Morris,  James  E Arthur,  111. 

Morrissey,  Andrew  M Valentine,  Neb. 

Morrow,  Thomas   R Kansas  City,   Mo. 

Morse,  S.    F.    B Houston,   Tex. 

Moss,  Nathanel   P Lafayette,   La. 

Mott,  John  Sabert,  M.D Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Mountjoy,  Wiley Twin  Bridges,  Mont. 

Mounts,  William  L Carlinville,  111. 

Mouton,  Homer Lafayette,    La. 

Moyer,  George  W Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Muir,  P.    B Louisville,    Ky. 

Mullins,  G.  M Papillion,  Neb. 

Mumford,   Beverley  B Richmond,  Va. 

Murphy,  D.    E Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Murphy,  John  H Denver,  Colo. 

Murphy,  J.  M.  C Lodi,  Cal. 

Murphy,  T.  J Mayfield,   Ky. 

Murphy,  Rev.    William Seward,    Neb. 

Murray,  Arthur Pine   Bluff,   Ark. 

Murray,  William  H Tishomingo,  I.  T. 

Napton,  Charles  M St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Nash,  John  A Audubon,  Iowa 

Nash,  Wiley  N Starkville,  Miss. 

Neal,  E.  A Cuero,  Tex. 

Neff,  George  H Sunbury,  Pa. 

Nelms,  W.    W Georgetown,   Tex. 

Neville,  Richard  L New  York  City 

Newby,   Nathan Los  Angeles,   Cal. 

Newson,  John  A Buffalo,  Tex. 

Newton,  Hon.  C Monroe,  La. 


New  York  University  Library, 

University  Heights,  New  York  City 

Nicholas,  S.  H Coshocton,  Ohio 

Nichols,  Joseph  F Greenville,  Tex. 

Nicholson,  B.    II Attala,   Ala. 

Nilsson,  M.  T Laurens,  Iowa 

Noe,  Noah  S Kearny,  N.  J. 

Norman,  J.   Felix Thayer,  Mo. 

Norman,  Louis  W Kandiyohi,  Minn. 

Norrell,  A.   G Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Northern  State  Normal  School Marquette,  Mich. 

Norton,  James Garrettsville,  Ohio 

Norwood,  G.   A.,   Jr Goldsboro,    N.   C. 

Nutt,  George    D.,    M.D \\illiamsport,    Pa. 

Nye,  Frederick  A Kearney,  Neb. 

O'Brien,  Ouin Chicago,   111. 

O'Brien,  Thomas   E New   York   City 

O'Bryan,  William   H Altruria,  Cal. 

O'Callaghan,    M.  J Philadelphia,    Pa. 

O'Connell,  J.  B Chicago,  111. 

O'Connor,  Cornelius New    York    City 

O'Donnell,  Joseph  A Chicago,  111. 

O'Gorman,   Hon.  James  A New  York  City 

O'Hara,  R.  A Hamilton,  Mont. 

O'Keeffe,  P.  T Chicago,  111. 

O'Malley,  John,  M.D Scranton,  Pa. 

O'Sullivan,  Michael New    York    City 

O'Sullivan,  W.  J New  York  City 

Oakes,  Dr.  I.  N North  Ridgeville,  Ohio 

Oakley,  Horace   S Chicago,  111. 

Ockford,  George  M.,   M.D Ridgewood,  N.  J. 

Odell,  Spurgeon Marshall,    Minn. 

Ogden,  R.  N Deadwood,  S.  Dak. 

Oliver,  George  A Onawa,  Iowa 

Olney,  Peter  B New  York  City 

Oneonta  Public  Library Oneonta,  N.  Y. 

Ornelas,   Dr.    P San  Antonio,  Tex. 

Orr,  J.  S Steel  City,  Neb. 

Orrick,  William  P.,  D.D Reading,  Pa. 

Osborne,  H.    E Chicago,   111. 

Osborne,  John  E Rawlins,  Wyo. 

Osborne.  S.  J Quanah,  Tex. 

Osthaus,   Herman Scranton,   Pa. 

Otis,  A.   Walker New   York  City 

Otts,  J.   Cornelius Gaffney,  S.  C. 

O vermyer,  John North    Vernon,    Ind. 

Owsley,   Alvin   C Denton,   Tex. 

Packwood,  S.    E Magnolia,   Miss. 

Paden,    George Armona,    Cal. 

Paine,  Bayard  H Grand  Island,  Neb. 

Paine,  Karl Idaho    City,    Idaho 

Palmer,  Clarence  S Kansas  City,  Mo. 

Palmer,  Irving  H Cortland,   N.   Y. 

Panabaker,   P.   F Hartington,   Neb. 

Parker.  Silas  C Mansfield,  Ohio 

Parker,  Dr.  Thomas  J Detroit,  Mich. 

Parker,    W.   S Henderson,   N.    C. 

Parker,  W.   W Baltimore,    Md. 

Parkhurst,  Frank  B Frankfort,  N.  Y. 

Parrish,  Robert   L Covington,   Va. 

Parrott,  James  M Kinston,  N.  C. 

Parrott,  R.    B Des   Moines,   Iowa 

Paterson,  Van   R San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Patrick,  Albert  T New  York  City 

Patrick,  John  E Jackson,  Ky. 

Patterson,  Benjamin New  York  City 

Patterson,  Charles   B El   Paso,  Tex. 

Patterson,  R.    S Safford,   Ariz. 

Patterson,  Thomas   M Denver,    Colo. 

Patton,  D.    H Woodward,   Okla. 

Patton,  George  S San   Gabriel,  Cal. 

Patty,  C.   N Pontiac,  111. 

Pauly,  R.  J.,  Sr St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Pavne,  Gen.   Walter  S Fostoria,  Ohio 

Pearson,  L.  W.,  M.D Brooklyn,   N.   Y. 

Peck,  John   H Troy,   N.    Y. 

Pendennis  Club Louisville,  Ky. 

Penney,  James    E New  Decatur,   Ala. 

Penwell,  Lewis Helena  Mont. 

Peoria  Public  Library Peoria,   111. 

Pereles,  Thomas  Jefferson Milwaukee,   Wis. 

Perkins,  Hon.   George  C Washington,  D.  C. 

Perkins,  John  C Sisseton,   S.    Dak. 

Perky,   K.  I Mountain  Home,  Idaho 

Perry,  W.  C Kansas  City,   Mo. 

Peterkin,   Dr.    Guy   S Seattle,    Wash. 

Peterkin,   W.   G Parkersburg,  W.  Va. 

Pettit,  William  B Palmyra,  Va. 

Pettus  &  Lester Athens,  Ala. 

Pharr,  Olin McRae,  Ga. 

Phelps,  O.  C Warren,  Ohio 

Philips,  H.    B Jacksonville,   Fla. 

Phillips,  George  B Key  West,  Fla. 

Phipps,  T.   M Key  West,  Fla. 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


Pickens,  Samuel  O Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Pickering,  A.  O.,  M.D Chuckey  City,  Tenn. 

Pickett,  N.  J.,  M.D Milford,  Tex. 

Pike,  Vinton St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

Pile,  J.  M Wayne,  Neb. 

Pinckney,  John   M Hempstead,  Tex. 

Pinney,  William  E Valparaiso,  Ind. 

Pitts,  John  A Nashville,   Tenn. 

Pitzer,  U.    S.    G Martinsburg,   W.    Va. 

Planten,  J.  R New  York  City 

Platt,  George  G Butte,  Mont. 

Plumer,  Samuel Franklin,    Pa. 

Plummer,  Edwin  L Indianapolis,   Ind. 

Pock,  John  H Troy,  N.  Y. 

Poindexter,  Joseph Cleburne,    Tex. 

Pool,  Lawrence  P Manchester,  Va. 

Porter,  Charles  H Baltimore,  Md. 

Porter,  Dr.  L.  L Roslyn,  Wash. 

Porter,  S.  W Sherman,  Tex. 

Porter,  W.   F Baltimore,   Md. 

Post,  Charles  A Cleveland,   Ohio 

Post,  Duff Tampa,  Fla. 

Post,  Floyd  L Midland,  Mich. 

Poston,  R.  C Corydon,  Iowa 

Potter,  C.    C Gainesville,   Tex. 

Potter,  C.  L Gainesville,  Tex. 

Potts,  H.    Cameron.. Germantown,   Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Potts,  W.  S Lisbon,  Ohio 

Pound,  James  T Newton,  Iowa 

Pounders,  R.  L Mt.  Vernon,  Tex. 

Powell,  Arthur  Gray Blakely,  Ga. 

Powell,  Joseph  H Bridgeton,    N.   J. 

Power,  John Escanaba,  Mich. 

Powers,  J.  N Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Prendergast,  Joseph,   M.D Chicago,  111. 

Prest,  John  E Cohoes,  N.  Y. 

Preston,  E.  F San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Preston,  Joseph  W.,  Jr Macon,   Ga. 

Price,  Daniel  T Yoakum,    Tex. 

Price,  Sim  T St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Price,  William  B Lincoln,   Neb. 

Price,  William  S Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Pritchett,  H.  C Huntsville,  Tex. 

Public  Library  and  Museum Dayton,  Ohio 

Quackenbush,  A.  W Stanberry,   Mo. 

Quick,   W.    H Rockingham,    N.    C. 

Quinn,  Frank  J Peoria,   111. 

Quinn,  Lawrence  R New  York  City 

Rader,  Perry  S Jefferson  City,  Mo. 

Ragland,  H.  Clay Logan,  W.  Va. 

Rainey,  Anson Dallas,  Tex. 

Ralston,  Jackson  H Hyattsville,  Md. 

Ralston,  Samuel   M Lebanon,    Ind. 

Ralston,   T.   A New   York  City 

Ralston,  Thomas  E St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Ramsland,  O.  T Sacred  Heart,  Minn. 

Ranney,  Henry  C Cleveland,  Ohio 

Rathbun,   W.  A Springfield,   Mo. 

Ravenel,  Rene Monks  Corner,  S.  C. 

Ray,  Al Charleston,  111. 

Read,  Charles  A Atlanta,  Ga. 

Rector,  H.  M.,  M.D Hot  Springs,   Ark. 

Redd,  Samuel  C Beaver  Dam  P.  O.,  Va. 

Reid,  James   W Lewiston,    Idaho 

Reid,  Rev.   J.   L Bardstown,    Ky. 

Reid,  Willard   P Babylon,   N.    Y. 

Reifkogel,  William % Plainview,  Minn. 

Reppy,  Samuel  A De  Soto,  Mo. 

Reuter,  Dominic Trenton,  N.  J. 

Reynolds,  Walter   D Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Rice,  Charles  E Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 

Rich,  Albert  R Du  Bois,  Pa. 

Richards,  F.  S Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Richardson,  Edmund   F Denver,   Colo. 

Rickards,  Hon.  J.  E Butte,  Mont. 

Ricketts,  A Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 

Riddle,  George  D Pittsburg,   Pa. 

Riley,  Harry  I Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Riordan,  T.  J Salinas,  Cal. 

Ritchie,  Alfred   G Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Riviere,  Georges  Alphonse Mobile,  Ala. 

Roark,  Joe  Sam Valparaiso,  Ind. 

Roberts,  John  W Riverside,   Cal. 

Robertson,  Andrew  C Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Robertson,  George Mexico,    Mo. 

Robertson,  James,  Jr Washta,   Iowa 

Robertson,  W.   F Georgetown,  Tex. 

Robinson,  C.  W Newport  News,  Va. 

Robinson,  Edward  M Mobile,  Ala. 

Robinson,  George  L.   F Highmore,  S.   Dak. 

Robinson,  George  R Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Robinson,  H.  R Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Robinson,  Joe  T Lonoke,   Ark. 

Robinson,  M.  L Columbus,  Ga. 


Rochford,  William   E Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Rodgers,  James   M Watsonville,   Cal. 

Rogers,  J.  R Olympia,  Wash. 

Roote,  Jesse  B Butte,  Mont. 

Rosenwald,  David   S Roswell,   N.    Mex. 

Ross,  P.    A Eustis,    Fla. 

Rubrecht,  Franklin Columbus,  Ohio 

Rush,  J.  S Des  Moines,   Iowa 

Russel,    Andrew Jacksonville,  111. 

Russell,  William  Hepburn New  York  City 

Ryan,  Joseph  T New  York  City 

Ryan,  O'Neill St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Ryan,  T.  C Wausau,  Wis. 

Ryan,  William  J Menominee,  Mich. 

Rynearson,  J.   M La  Fayette,   Ind. 

Sackett,  Henry  W New  York  City 

Saffolds,  W.  S Guyton,  Ga. 

Sale,  Lee St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Sample,  A Bloomington,  111. 

Sanders,  George  A Springfield,  111. 

Sankey,    R.    A Wichita,    Kan. 

Sargent,  Brad  V Salinas  City,  Cal. 

Sargent,  C.    H Jefferson,  Ohio 

Savage,  John  H McMinnville,  Tenn. 

Savage,  Michael Clarksville,    Tenn. 

Sawdey,  D.  A Erie,   Pa. 

Sawyer,  A.  J Lincoln,  Neb. 

Sawyer,  A.   L Menominee,   Mich. 

Sawyer,  John  H Auburn,  N.   Y. 

Scales,  S.  S Crawford,  Miss. 

Scarlett,  James Danville,   Pa. 

Scattergood,  Caleb Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Schaef er,  Charles Sedgwick,  Kan. 

Scharfer,  E Toccoa,  Ga. 

Schevers,  A.  J Chicago,   111. 

Schieck,   Christian,  Jr New  York  City 

Schilling,  A.  J Urbana,   111. 

Schilling,  N Cedar  Bayou,  Tex 

Schlegel,  Hon.  Henry Lapeer,  Mich. 

Schlichter,  G.  V Brooklyn,   N.  Y.. 

Schnell,   L St.   Charles,   Miss. 

Schoenfeld,  Rev.   W New  York  City 

Schroeder,  James Guttenberg,    Iowa 

Schubert,  C Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 

Schurnight,  W.  J Mishawaka,  Ind 

Schultz,  Irvine  W Phillipsburg,  N.  J. 

Scott,  A.   G Chicago,  III 

Scott,  C.  H Elkins,  W.  Va. 

Scott,  George   W Davenport,    lowt 

Scott,  Joseph Los  Angeles,   Cal. 

Scott,  Tully Oberlin,    Kan. 

Scott,  W Clarksburg,  W.  Va. 

Scott,  Wralter  E.,   M.D Adel,   Iowa 

Scott,  W.  W.,  State  Librarian Richmond,  Va. 

Seaberg,    Hugo Springer,    N.   Mex. 

Seabury,  Samuel New  York  City 

Searcy,  Jefferson  B Eminence,  Mo. 

Sebastian.  James    M Booneville,    Ky. 

Seiders,  C.  A Toledo,  Ohio 

Seiss,  Joseph  A.,  D.D.,   LL.D Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Selby,  T.  J Hardin,   111. 

Seney,  Hon.   Henry  W Toledo,  Ohio 

Sennott,  John  S.,  M.D Waterloo,  111. 

Sentinel  of  Liberty Chicago,    111. 

Sexton,  H.  A.  J Jefferson  City,   Mo. 

Shabad,  Henry  M Chicago,  111. 

Shackleford,  Thomas  M Tampa,  Fla. 

Shaffer,  C.  W Emporium,   Pa. 

Shank,  Corwin  S Seattle,  Wash. 

Shannon,  I.  M Clarion,  Pa. 

Shattuck,   F.  R Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Shaw,  James  H Bloomington,   111. 

Shaw,  O.   W Austin,  Minn. 

Sheard,  Titus Little  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Shearman,  Thomas  G Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Sheean,  David Galena,  111. 

Sheeks,  Ben Tacoma,  Wash. 

Shelton,   D.    C Tulsa,   I.   T. 

Shepherd,  W.   C Hamilton,    Ohio 

Shepherd,  William  G Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y. 

Sheppard,  Howard  R Philadelphia,   Pa. 

Shick,  Robert  P Reading,  Pa. 

Shields,   Moses,  Jr Nicholson,   Pa. 

Shime,  Patrick  C Spokane,  Wash. 

Shipp,  C.   J Cordele,  Ga. 

Shirley,    D.    D Allerton,    Iowa 

Shirley,  Robert  B Carlinville,  111. 

Short,  John  P Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Shortz,  Edwin Wilkes-Barre,    Pa. 

Sibley,  Hiram   S Marietta,    Ohio 

Sidebottom,  Earl  E Santa  Fe,  N.  Mex. 

Silberman,    Louis Albany,   N.   Y. 

Silha,  John  A Chicago,  111. 

Sim,  John  R New  York  City 


LIST  OF  PATRONS 


Simms,  A.   H Birmingham,  Ala. 

Simonds,  C.  H Conneaut,  Ohio 

Simonton,  Dr.    A.    C Roslyn,    Wash. 

Simpson,  William  J.,   M.D Western,   Mo. 

Sioux  City  Public  Library Sioux  City,  Iowa 

Skelton,    W.   H Alvarado,   Tex. 

Skipworth,  E.  R Eugene,  Ore. 

Slack,  Dr.  Henry  R La  Grange,  Ga. 

Slater,  W.    T Salem,   Ore. 

Slinkard,  W.  L Bloomfield,  Ind. 

Sloan,  J.  R Stanley,  Kan. 

Slocum,  C.   E.,  Jr Beatrice,  Neb. 

Slocum,  Charles  E.,  M.D.,  Ph.D Defiance,  Ohio 

Smith,  Benjamin  N Los  Angeles,  Cal. 

Smith,  Ephraim   P Yorkville,  Tenn. 

Smith,  Gilbert   D Middebourne,   W.   Va. 

Smith,  Harrison  B Charleston,  W.  Va. 

Smith,  J.  Alfred Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Smith,  J.    P Fort  \Vorth,   Tex. 

Smith,  Oscar  B Washington,  Ga. 

Smith,  Ouincy  A Lansing,  Mich. 

Smith,  W.    Wickham Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 

Smyth,  David Wichita,  Kan. 

Smythe,  P.  Henry Burlington,  Iowa 

Snedeker,  J.   Q Marshall,   111. 

Snider,  Millard  F Clarksburg,  W.  Va. 

Soliday,  George  W Carrington,  N.   Dak. 

Solter,  George  A Baltimore,   Md. 

Somermier,  W.  H Winfield,  Kan. 

Somers,  James  W San  Diego,  Cal. 

Somerville,  Robert Greenville,  Miss. 

Southall,  E.   \V.,   M.D Geneseo,  N.   Y. 

Spain,  John  A Sardis,  Miss. 

Spannhorst,  Henry  J St.   Louis,   Mo. 

Sparr,  R.  W Lawrence,  Kan. 

Spearman,  Robert  F Greenville,  Tex. 

Speer,  D.  R Greenville,  S.  C. 

Speer,  James  A New   York  City 

Spekker,  Staas Lewiston,  Idaho 

Spell,  W.  E Hillsboro,  Tex. 

Spencer,  H.  N.,  M.D St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Spencer,    H.  R Duluth,  Minn. 

Spencer,  S.  S Eugene,  Ore. 

Spencer,     Thomas  H Chicago,   111. 

Spencer,  William  W Indianapolis,  Ind. 

Spooner,   Lewis  C Morris,  Minn. 

Sporer,  Thomas  D Jacksboro,  Tex. 

Spratt,  William  E St.  Joseph,  Mo. 

Sprigg,  Joseph Cumberland,   Md. 

Spriggs,  J.   P Woodfield,  Ohio 

Squire,  VVilliam  Russell New  York  City 

Stahlman,   E.   C Nashville,  Tenn. 

Standish,  A.  B St.  Ignace,  Mich. 

Stansel,    M.    L Carrollton,    Ala. 

Staples,  John  W Harriman,  Tenn. 

Starnes,  P.  M Des  Moines,  Iowa 

Starrett,   William   R New    York  City 

Steck,  John  M Winchester,  Va. 

Sleekier,  Louis New  York  City 

Steele,   Robert  W Denver,  Colo. 

Steenerson,    H Crookston,    Minn. 

Stehle,   Rev.  Wralter,  O.S.B Allegheny,  Pa. 

Steinman,   E.   W Belleville,   111. 

Stephens,  H.  A Wallace,   N.    Y. 

Stephenson,  Albert  G New  York  City 

Stephenson,  W .  H Hart ington,   Neb. 

Sterrett,    David Washington,    Pa. 

Stevens,  B.  J Madison,  Wis. 

Stewart,  I.  J Richfield,  Utah 

Stewart.  William   C Soapstone,   Ala. 

Stewart,  W.    E Clanton,    Ala. 

Stewart,  Hon.   William   M Washington,  D.  C. 

Stimpson,  H.  C.  S New  York  City 

Stites,  O.  W Durham,  N.  C. 

Stocker,    R.    M Honesdale,    Pa. 

Stoddart,  George  B Oyster  Bay,  N.  Y. 

Stokes,  J.    William Orangeburg,    S.    C. 

Stone,  Alfred   Holt Greenville,    Miss. 

Stone,  Russell  J Attica,    N.    Y. 

Stone,  William  J St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Stonesipher,  John  R Zanesville,  Ohio 

Straka,   Louis David   City,   Neb. 

Stranahan,    N.   N Fulton,    N.    Y. 

Strattan,  Edward  K Newcastle,  Ind. 

Strattan,  Oliver  H Louisville,  Ky. 

Street,  Oliver  Day Guntersville,  Ala. 

Street,  Robert  G Galveston,  Tex. 

Strode,   Aubrey  E Amherst,   Va. 

Strong,  William  J Chicago,  111. 

Stuart,    Wesley   A Sturgis,    S.    Dak. 

Sullivan,  John  J New  York  City 

Sulzer,    Hon.   William New   York   City 

Summers,  L.    P Abingdon,   Va. 

Sumpter,  Orlando  H Hot  Springs,  Ark. 


Sure,  A.  T.  H Alameda,  Cal. 

Sutton,  R.    H.,    M.D Shenandoah,   Iowa 

Sutton,  Robert  L Troy,   Mo. 

Sutton,  W.   Henry Haverford,   Pa. 

Sweet,  Silas  C.... Des   Moines,   Iowa 

Swigart,    Frank Logansport,  Ind. 

Sydnor,   \Valker Ashland,  Va. 

Sykes,   M.    L New  York  City 

Sypher,  Gen.  J.  Hale Washington,  D.  C. 

Syracuse  Central   Library Syracuse,   N.  Y. 

Tadlock,  J.  M ". Phillipsburg,  Kan. 

Tait,  A.  O Oakland,  Cal. 

Tartt,  J.   B Terrell,  Tex. 

Tatum,  I.  R Corsicana,  Tex. 

Tayloe,  S.  G Sonora,  Tex. 

Taylor,  Col.    Charles   H Boston,   Mass. 

Taylor,  C.   S Keeseville,    N.    Y. 

Taylor,  Edward   B Pittsburg,  Pa. 

Taylor,  G.    F Effingham,   111. 

Taylor,  John  H Chillicothe,  Mo. 

Taylor,  John   L Boonville,  Ind. 

Taylor,  Hon.  Thomas  I' Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Taylor,  Thomas  T Lake  Charles,  La. 

Teall,   Frank  DeWitt Gettysburg,   S.   Dak. 

Templer,    James  N Muncie,    Ind. 

Ten  Broeck,  W.  H Paris,  111. 

Terrell,  J.  C,  Jr Fort  Worth,  Tex. 

Terrell,  R.  A Birmingham,  Ala. 

The  Free  Library  of  Philadelphia.  .Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Theobald,  Thomas  D Grayson,  Ky. 

The  World New  York  City 

Thiele,   Theodore    B Evanston,    111. 

Thomas,  Alfred  Jefferson Wooster,  Ohio 

Thompson,  Cleveland  C Plattsburg,  Mo. 

Thompson,  Col.   J.   K.   P Rock  Rapids,  Iowa 

Thompson,  Oliver  Silas,   D.D Cherokee,  Iowa 

Thompson,  Seymour  D Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Thompson,  William  D Racine,  Wis. 

Thompson,  W.  H Grand  Island,  Neb. 

Thorn,   Samuel   S.,   M.D Toledo,   Ohio 

Thornburgh,  A.,   M.D Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

Thorp,   F.  S South   Bend,   Wash. 

Thrift,  J.  E Madison,  Va. 

Thurman,  William  J.,  M.D Lisbon,  Ark. 

Tileston,  H.  B.,  D.D.S Louisville,  Ky. 

Titus,  Robert  C Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Tobey,  Walter   L Hamilton,    Ohio 

Todd,  Robert   S Owensboro,    Ky. 

Toler,    Frank Carbondale,   111. 

Tongue,  Thomas  H Hillsboro,  Ore. 

Tompkins,  Prof.   Leslie  J New   York  City 

Toomer,  John  Sheldon Lake  Charles,   La. 

Towne,  Charles  A Duluth,  Minn. 

Trainor,  P.  F New  York  City 

Trammell,  John  W Oxford,  Neb. 

Travis,  John  W Traverse  City,  Mich. 

Treacy,    Daniel    F New    York   City 

Trevyett,  Herbert  E Utica,  N.  Y. 

Trewin,  James   H Lansing,  Iowa 

Trice,  H.  H Norfolk,  Va. 

Trimble,   James   M Montclair,    N.    T. 

Tritch,  Dr.  J.  C Findlay,   Ohio 

Trueworthy,   Dr.   J.    \V Los   Angeles,    Cal. 

Truitt,   Warren Moscow,   Idaho 

Tuchock,    I.   W Pueblo,    Colo. 

Tucker,  C.  H Lawrence,  Kan. 

Tucker,  Joseph  T Winchester,  Ky. 

Turley,  Hon,  Thomas  B Memphis,  Tenn. 

Turman,  Solon  B Tampa,  Fla. 

Turner,  E.  J Washington,    D.    C. 

Turner,!.    Frank Easton,   Md. 

Turner,  Jesse Van    Buren,    Ark. 

Turner,  J.  H Henderson,  Tex. 

Turner,  T.    A Jackson,    Tenn. 

Turney,  Thomas  K Cameron,   Mo 

Tuttle,   G.   N Painesville,   Ohio 

Tuttle,   Dr.  Jay Astoria,   Ore. 

Urlls,  P.  A So.  Omaha,  Neb. 

Utopian   Club    Library Ballston   Spa,    N.   Y. 

Van  Alstyne,   P New  York  City 

Van  Auken,   M.  W Utica,   N.  Y. 

van  Benschoten,   H.    L Belding,   Mich. 

Van  Cott,  Ray Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Van  Deusen,  Claudius Leeds,  N.   Y. 

Van  Etten,  John  E Kingston,  N.  Y! 

Van  Loo,  C Zeeland,  Mich. 

Van  Sickle,  W.  L Columbus,  Ohio 

\  an  Siclen,  J.  C New  York  Citv 

Van  Vliet,  Purdy New  York  City 

Van  Wyck,  Stephen New  York  City 

Vaughan,  Horace  W Texarkana,  Tex". 

Vaughan,  W.  A.,  M.D Timberville,  Va. 

Veale,  John  W Amarillo,  Tex. 

Vernier,   R.   P Ansonia,    Ohio 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


Vert,  C.  J... 

Vickers,  Carl 


Plattsburgh,   N.   Y. 

B New  Comerstown,  Ohio 

Vincent',  James  U Stephenville,  Tex. 

Virginia  State  Library Richmond,  Va. 

Volger,    Bernard   G Brooklyn,   N.    Y. 

Volger,  Theodore  G Park  Ridge,  N.  J. 

Vollmer,  Henry Davenport,  Iowa 

Vollrath,    Edward Bucyrus,   Ohio 

von  Beust,  Bernhard,  M.D New  Albany,  Ind. 

Wakefield,  Tudge  George  W Sioux  City,  Iowa 

Wakeman,  Prof.  Thaddeus  B.,  Liberal  University, 

Silverton,  Ore. 

Walker,  Frank State  Centre,  Iowa 

Walker,  F.  A.,  M.D Norfolk,  Va. 

Walker,  John  F Luverne,  Ala. 

Walker,  Stuart  W Martinsburg,  W.   Va. 

Wall,  James  A Salinas,  Cal. 

Wallace,  Richard  T New  York  City 

Ward,  A.  D New  Bern,  N.  C. 

Ward,  C.  A.,  Jr Douglas,  Ga. 

Ward,  Warren  P Douglas,  Ga. 

Warner,  C.   O Beloit,  Wis. 

Warner,  P.  G Red  Bank,  N.  J. 

Warren,  George  M Swainsbpro,  Ga. 

Wash,    Frank    H San   Antonio,    Tex. 

Wasson,  J.   E Giltedge,  Mont. 

Waters,  John  H Johnstown,   Pa. 

Watkins,  Charles  B Clinton,  Miss. 

Watkins,  O.  W Eureka  Springs,  Ark. 

Watkins,  R.  A Lancaster,  Wis. 

Watson,  E.   P Bentonville,  Ark. 

Watson,  John  C Nebraska  City,  Neb. 

Watterson,   Henry Louisville,   Ky. 

Watts,  Legh  R Portsmouth,  Va. 

Weadock,  Thomas  A.  E Detroit,  Mich. 

Weaver,  William   R Philadelphia,    Pa. 

Webb,  B.  W Fort  Smith,  Ark. 

Webb,  Dr.  DeWitt St.   Augustine,   Fla. 

Weedon,  L.  W Tampa,  Fla. 

Wehmeyer,  Aug.  H Quincy,  111. 

Weinberg,    Benjamin    M Newark,    N.    J. 

Weinstock,  H N Sacramento,  Cal. 

Weir,  A.    R Au    Sable,   Mich. 

Welborne,   R.   D Chickasha,   I.  T. 

Welbourn,  E.  L.,   M.D Union  City,   Ind. 

Welch,  Aikman St.   Louis,   Mo. 

Welch,  Judge   Stanley Corpus    Christi,   Tex. 

Wellman,   B.  J Fort  Madison,  Iowa 

Wells,  G.   Wiley Santa   Monica,    Cal. 

Wells,  R.  H Clarksville,  Tex. 

Wslsh,  John New  York  City 

Westbrook,  M.  H Lyons,  Iowa 

Wester,  J.  K Jacksboro,  Tex. 

Westerfield,  William  W New  Orleans,  La. 

Weston,   Francis  H Columbia,   S.  C. 

Wetmore,  Hon.    George  Peabody Newport,   R.    I. 

Wetmore,  J.  Douglas Jacksonville,   Fla. 

Wetmore,  J.  W Erie,  Pa. 

Weygandt,  C.  N Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Whalen,  Frank Ballston  Spa,  N.  Y. 

Whalen.  Hon.   John New  York  City 

Wheeler,  B.   A Denver,  Colo. 

Wheeler,  Charles  H Greeley,  Colo. 

Wheeler,  W.  C.,  M.D Huntsville,  Ala. 

White,  E.  D Livingston,  Tenn. 

White,  Harry Indiana,    Pa. 

White,  Henry   Kirk Birmingham,    Ala. 

White,  L.  E Columbus,  Ga. 


White,  Lewis   P New  Whatcom,  Wash. 

White,  Robert  E.   L Washington,   D.   C. 

White,  Samuel Baker  City,  Ore. 

White,  W.   H Oiympia,   Wash. 

White,  Dr.    William    W Cuero,   Tex. 

Whitecraf t,  John  E Macksville,  Kan. 

Whitehead,  N.   E Greenwood,  Miss. 

Whitmore,  John  A Aurora,   Neb. 

Whitney,  Thomas  H Atlantic,   Iowa 

Wilcox,  E.  K Cleveland,  Ohio 

Wilcox,  H.   D Elmira,    N.   Y. 

Wilcox,  M.    C Oakland,  Cal. 

Wildermuth,  P.  A. Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Williams,  James  T Greenville,  S.  C. 

Williams,  P.  B Rocky  Comfort,  Ark. 

Willis,  H.  C Norfolk,  Va. 

Willis,  W.  L Houston,  Tex. 

Willits,  J.   Quincy Lakeview,  Ore. 

Wilson,  Edwin  A Springfield,  111. 

Wilson,  N.  V.  F Bridgeport,  Ohio 

Wilson,  Stephen  Eugene Hot  Springs,  S.  Dak. 

Wilson,  Sidney Sherman,  Tex. 

Wilson,  Thomas  A Jackson,  Mich. 

Wilson,  Thomas  E Sylvan  Lake,   Fla. 

Wilson,  Thomas  F Tucson,  Ariz. 

Wilsson,  M.  T Laurens,  Iowa 

Winborne,    R.    W Buena    Vista,    Va. 

Wing,  John  D New  York  City 

Wingo,  Col.  Charles  E Richmond,  Va. 

Winkler,  F.  C Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Winne,   Douglas  T Appleton,  Wis. 

Winship,   John   O Cleveland,    Ohio 

Winslow,  H.  M Carrollton,  Ky. 

Winter,  Phil  E Omaha,  Neb. 

Witcover,    H Marion,   S.   C. 

Withey,  Charles  A Reed  City,  Mich. 

Witmark,  Isidore New  York  City 

Witter,  William  C New  York  City 

Wolverton,  S.  P Sunbury,  Pa. 

Womack,  Thomas  B Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Wood,  William  P Washington,  D.  C. 

Wood,  Will  R Lafayette,  Ind. 

Woodard,  F.  A Wilson,  N.  C. 

Woodard,  John Nashville,  Tenn. 

Woodring,  James  T So.   Bethlehem,   Pa. 

Woodward,  C.  S Ballinger,  Tex. 

Woods,   D.   A Kokomo,   Ind. 

Woolling,  J.  H Indianapolis,   Ind. 

Worley,  Joshua,  M.D Belle  Plaine,  Iowa 

Wrenn,  Rev.  V Amelia  C.  H.,  Va. 

Wright,  E.    B Boardman,   N.    C. 

Wright,  Eugene   L Chicago,   111. 

Wright,  Lucius  W Chicago,   111. 

Wright,  William  B Effingham,  111. 

Wyatt,  W.  F Galena,  Kan. 

Yancey,  John   C Batesville,   Ark. 

Yates,   Benjamin New  York  City 

Yeaman,  Caldwell Denver,  Colo. 

Yerex,  A.   E Chicago,  111. 

Yonge,  Henry Brooklyn,  N.  Y 

Young,  Duncan  F Amite  City,  La. 

Young,  Hugh Wellsboro,   Pa, 

Young,  James    R Raleigh,   N.    C. 

Zabel,  John  O Petersburg,  Mich. 

Zallars,   Allen Fort   Wayne,    Ind. 

Zang,  William Kewanee,  111. 

Zangerle,  John  A Cleveland,    Ohio 

Zenk,   Frederick  G.,  M.D Troy,   111 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


PLAN    OF  THE    WORK   AND   EXPLANATION 
OF  ABBREVIATIONS 


l\vo  editions  of  Jefferson's  Writings  have  been  utilized  in  the  prepara 
tion  of  this  volume.  One  of  them  is  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON, 
edited  by  H.  A.  Washington  and  printed  by  the  United  States  Congress  in 
1853-54.  The  other  edition  is  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  collected 
and  edited  by  Paul  Leicester  Ford,  and  published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons, 
1892-99.  The  FORD  EDITION  contains  a  large  number  of  valuable  letters  and 
papers  which  are  not  printed  in  the  WASHINGTON  EDITION,  while  the  latter 
gives  many  letters  that  are  not  included  by  Mr.  Ford  in  his  volumes. 

The  quotations  in  THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA  are  credited  to  both 
works  if  they  contain  them.  Quotations  with  a  single  credit  are  printed  only 
in  the  edition  indicated. 

There  are,  in  addition,  some  quotations  from  the  DOMESTIC  LIFE  OF  JEF 
FERSON.  Th'ese  are  marked  D.  L.  J. 

The  name  of  the  person  written  to  is  given  after  the  extract  as,  under 
Abuse,  "To  EDWARD  RUTLEDGE,"  then  the  volume  and  edition  where  found 
are  given,  as  "  iv,  151,"  refers  to  the  WASHINGTON  EDITION,  while  "  FORD 
ED.,  viii,  93,"  is  self-explanatory  ;  next  the  place  and  date  are  given,  as  (M., 
Dec.  1796)  =  Monticello,  Dec.  1796. 

The  names  of  places  from  which  Jefferson  wrote  are  abbreviated  as 
follows  : 

Albemarle,  Va.,    .     .     .  Alb.  Nice Ne. 

Annapolis, A.  Nismes, Ns. 

Baltimore, B.  Paris P. 

Chesterfield,  Va.,       .     .  Ches.  Philadelphia,    ....  Pa. 

Eppington,  Va.,    .     .     .  Ep.  Popular  Forest,  Va.,       .  P.F. 

Fairfield,  Va F.  Richmond R. 

Germantown.    .                .  G.  Tuckahoe,  Va T. 

London, L.  Washington,      ....  W. 

Monticello, M.  Williamsburg,  Va.,    .     .  Wg. 

New  York N.Y. 

In  the  quotations  the  mark     *     *     *     indicates  an  omission  in  the  text. 
Words    not    in    the    text,  but    supplied  by  the    Editor  are,  in   all  cases, 
enclosed   within   brackets. 


THE 

JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


1.  ABILITIES,     Appreciate.— I     cannot 
help  hoping  that  every  friend  of  genius,  when 
the    other    qualities    of    the    competitor    are 
equal,  will  give  a  preference  to  superior  abili 
ties. — To  WILLIAM    PRESTON.     FORD  ED.,    i, 
368.    (1768.) 

2.  ABILITIES,      Attract.— Render     the 
[State]    executive  a  more   desirable  post  to 
men  of  abilities  by  making  it  more  independ 
ent  of  the  legislature. — To  ARCHIBALD  STUART. 
iii,  315.    FORD  ED.,  v,  410.    (Pa.,  1791.) 

3.  ABILITIES,    Education    and.— It    is 
often  said  there  have  been  shining  examples 
of  men  of  great  abilities,  in  all  businesses  of 
life,  without  any  other  science  than  what  they 
had  gathered   from   conversation   and   inter 
course   with  the  world.     But,   who  can   say 
what  these  men  would  not  have  been,  had 
they  started  in  the  science  on  the  shoulders  of 
a   Demosthenes   or    Cicero,    of   a    Locke,    or 
Bacon,   or  a   Newton? — To    JOHN   BRAZIER. 
vii,  133.     (1819.) 

4.  ABILITIES,    Few   Men   of.— Men   of 
high  learning  and  abilities  are  few  in  every 
country:    and   by   taking    in    [the   judiciary] 
those  who  are  not  so,  the  able  part  of  the  body 
have    their    hands    tied    by    the    unable. — To 
ARCHIBALD    STUART,     iii,    315.     FORD   ED.,    v, 
410.    (Pa.,  1791.)  See  ARISTOCRACY,  TALENTS. 

—   ABLATIVE    CASE    IN    GREEK.— 

See  LANGUAGES. 

_  ABOLITION     OF     SLAVERY.— See 

SLAVERY. 

5.  ABORIGINES  OF  AMERICA,  Deri 
vation. — Whence  came  those  aboriginals  of 
America?     Discoveries,    long    ago    made,    were 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  passage  from  Europe 
to  America  was  always  practicable,  even  to  the 
imperfect  navigation  of  ancient  times.     In  go 
ing  from   Norway  to  Iceland,  from   Iceland  to 
Greenland,    from    Greenland    to    Labrador,    the 
first  traject  is  the  widest;    and  this  having  been 
practised  from  the  earliest  times  of  which  we 
have  any  account  of  that  part  of  the  earth,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  suppose  that  the  subsequent  tra- 
jects  may  have  been  sometimes  passed.      Again, 
the  late  discoveries  of  Captain  Cook,  coasting 
from  Kamchatka  to  California,  have  proved  that 


if  the  two  continents  of  Asia  and  America  be 
separated  at  all,  it  is  only  by  a  narrow  strait. 
So  that  from  this  side  also,  inhabitants  may 
have  passed  into  America ;  and  the  resemblance 
between  the  Indians  of  America  and  the  eastern 
inhabitants  of  Asia,  would  induce  us  to  conjec 
ture,  that  the  former  are  the  descendants  of  the 
latter,  or  the  latter  of  the  former ;  excepting 
indeed  the  Esquimaux,  who,  from  the  same  cir 
cumstance  of  resemblance,  and  from  identity  of 
language,  must  be  derived  from  the  Greenland- 
ers,  and  these  probably  from  some  of  the  north 
ern  parts  of  the  old  continent. — NOTES  ON  VIR 
GINIA,  viii,  344.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  205.  (1782.) 

6.  ABORIGINES  OF  AMERICA,  Lan 
guages. — A  knowledge  of  their  several  lan 
guages  would  be  the  most  certain  evidence  of 
their  derivation  which  could  be  produced.  In 
fact,  it  is  the  best  proof  of  the  affinity  of  nations 
which  ever  can  be  referred  to.  How  many  ages 
have  elapsed  since  the  English,  the  Dutch,  the 
Germans,  the  Swiss,  the  Norwegians,  Danes  and 
Swedes  have  separated  from  their  common 
stock?  Yet  how  many  more  must  elapse  before 
the  proofs  of  their  common  origin,  which  exist 
in  their  several  languages  will  disappear?  It  is 
to  be  lamented,  then,  very  much  to  be  lamented, 
that  we  have  suffered  so  many  of  the  Indian 
tribes  already  to  extinguish  without  our  having 
previously  collected  and  deposited  in  the  records 
of  literature,  the  general  rudiments  at  most  of 
the  languages  they  spoke.  Were  vocabularies 
formed  of  all  the  languages  spoken  in  North 
and  South  America,  preserving  their  appella 
tions  of  the  most  common  objects  in  nature,  of 
those  which  must  be  present  to  every  nation 
barbarous  or  civilized,  with  the  inflections  of 
their  nouns  and  verbs,  their  principles  of  regi 
men  and  concord,  and  these  deposited  in  all  the 
public  libraries,  it  would  furnish  opportunities 
to  those  skilled  in  the  languages  of  the  old 
world  to  compare  them  with  those,  now,  or  at 
any  future  time,  and  hence  to  construct  the  best 
evidence  of  the  derivation  of  their  part  of  the 
human  race. — NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,  viii,  344. 
FORD  ED.,  iii,  206.  (1782.) 

7. The     question     whether    the 

Indians  of  America  have  emigrated  from  an 
other  continent  is  still  undecided.  Their  vague 
and  imperfect  traditions  can  satisfy  no  mind  on 
that  subject.  I  have  long  considered  their  lan 
guages  as  the  only  remaining  monument  of 
connection  with  other  nations,  or  the  want  of  it, 
to  which  we  can  now  have  access.  They  will  like 
wise  show  their  connection  with  one  another. 


Aborigines  of  America 
Abuses 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Very  early  in  life,  therefore,  I  formed  a  vocabu 
lary  of  such  objects  as,  being  present  every 
where,  would  probably  have  a  name  in  every 
language ;  and  my  course  of  life  having  given 
me  opportunities  of  obtaining  vocabularies  of 
many  Indian  tribes,  I  have  done  so  on  my 
original  plan,  which,  though  far  from  being 
perfect,  has  the  valuable  advantage  of  identity, 
of  thus  bringing  the  languages  to  the  same 
points  of  comparison.  *  *  *  The  Indians 
west  of  the  Mississippi  and  south  of  the  Ar 
kansas,  present  a  much  longer  list  of  tribes  than 
I  had  expected ;  and  the  relations  in  which  you 
stand  with  them  *  *  *  induce  me  to  hope 
you  will  avail  us  of  your  means  of  collecting 
their  languages  for  this  purpose. — To  DR.  SIB- 
LEY,  iv,  580.  (W.,  1805.) 

8. I    suppose   the   settlement   of 

our  continent  is  of  the  most  remote  antiquity. 
The  similitude  between  its  inhabitants  and 
those  of  eastern  parts  of  Asia  renders  it  prob 
able  that  ours  are  descended  from  them,  or  they 
from  ours.  The  latter  is  my  opinion,  founded 
on  this  single  fact :  Among  the  red  inhabitants 
of  Asia,  there  are  but  a  few  languages  radically 
different,  but  among  our  Indians,  the  number  of 
languages  is  infinite,  and  they  are  so  radically 
different  as  to  exhibit  at  present  no  appearance 
of  their  having  been  derived  from  a  common 
source.  The  time  necessary  for  the  generation 
of  so  many  languages  must  be  immense. — To 
EZRA  STILES.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  298.  (P.,  1786.) 
See  INDIANS. 

—  ABSENCE  FROM  THE  CAPITAL.— 

See  VACATION. 

—  ABSTINENCE.— See  INTEMPERANCE. 

9.  ABUSE,     Newspaper. — It     is     hardly 
necessary  to  caution  you  to  let  nothing  of 
mine  get  before  the  public :    a  single  sentence 
got  hold  of  by  the  "  Porcupines,"  *  will  suffice 
to  abuse  and  persecute  me   in  their  papers 
for    months. — To    JOHN    TAYLOR,    iv,      248. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  266.     (Pa.,  1798.)     See  LIBELS, 
MINISTERS,    NEWSPAPERS  and  SLANDER. 

10.  ABUSE,    Personal. — You    have    seen 
my    name    lately    tacked    to    so    much    of 
eulogy  and  of  abuse  that  I  dare  say  you  hardly 
thought  that  it  meant  your  old  acquaintance 
of  '76.     In  truth,  I  did  not  know  myself  under 
the  pens  either  of  my  friends  or  foes.     It  is 
unfortunate    for    our    peace    that    unmerited 
abuse    wounds,    while    unmerited    praise   has 
not  the  power  to  heal.    These  are  hard  wages 
for  the  services  of  all  the  active  and  healthy 
years  of  one's  life. — To  EDWARD  RUTLEDGE. 
iv,  151.     FORD  ED.,  vii,  93.     (M.,  Dec.  1796.) 
See    CALUMNY,    LIBELS,    MINISTERS,    NEWS 
PAPERS  and  SLANDER. 

11. If    you    had    lent    to    your 

country  the  excellent  talents  you  possess,  on 
you  would  have  fallen  those  torrents  of  abuse 
which  have  lately  been  poured  forth  on 
me.  So  far  I  praise  the  wisdom  which  has 
descried  and  steered  clear  of  a  waterspout 
ahead. — To  EDWARD  RUTLEDGE.  iv,  152. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  94.  (M.,  1796.) 

—  ABUSE  OF  POWER.— See  POWER. 

—  ABUSE  OF  THE  PRESS.— See  CAL 
UMNY,  LIBELS,  NEWSPAPERS,  and  SLANDER. 

*"  Peter  Porcupine  "  was  the  pen-name  of  William 
Cobbett.— EDITOR. 


12.  ABUSES,  Arraignment  of.— The  ar 
raignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  public 
reason,  I  deem  [one  of  the]  essential  princi 
ples  of  our    government    and    consequently, 
[one]    which  ought  to  shape  its  administra 
tion.      FIRST    INAUGURAL    ADDRESS,     viii,    4. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  5.    (1801.) 

13.  ABUSES,  Barriers   against— We  are 
to  guard  against  ourselves;  not  against  our 
selves  as  we  are,  but  as  we  may  be ;  for  who 
can  now  imagine  what  we  may  become  under 
circumstances  not  now  imaginable  ? — To  JEDE- 
DIAH    MORSE,     vii,    236.     FORD    ED.,    x,    206. 
(M.,  1822.) 

14.  ABUSES,   The   Constitution  and.— 

In  questions  of  power  *  *  *  let  no  more 
be  heard  of  confidence  in  man,  but  bind  him 
down  from  mischief  by  the  chains  of  the 
Constitution. — KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS,  ix, 
471-  FORD  ED.,  vii,  305.  (1798.)  See  CON 
FIDENCE. 

15. Aware  of  the   tendency   of 

power  to  degenerate  into  abuse,  the  worthies 
of  our  own  country  have  secured  its  in 
dependence  by  the  establishment  of  a  Consti 
tution  and  form  of  government  for  our  na 
tion,  calculated  to  prevent  as  well  as  to  cor 
rect  abuse. — R.  TO  A  WASHINGTON  TAMMANY 
SOCIETY,  viii,  156.  (1809.) 

16.  ABUSES,   Correction  of.— My  confi 
dence  is  that  there  will  for  a  long  time  be 
virtue  and  good  sense  enough  in  our  country 
men  to  correct  abuses. — To  E.  RUTLEDGE.     ii, 
435.     FORD  ED.,  v,  42.     (P.,  1788.) 

17.  ABUSES,  Economy    and. — The   new 

government  has  now,  for  some  time,  been 
under  way.  Abuses  under  the  old  forms  have 
led  us  to  lay  the  basis  of  the  new  in  a  rigor 
ous  economy  of  the  public  contributions. — 
To  M.  DE  PINTO,  iii,  174.  (N.  Y.,  1790.) 

18.  ABUSES,    Education    and. — Educa 
tion  is  the  true  corrective  of  abuses  of  consti 
tutional  power. — To  WILLIAM  C.  JARVIS.    vii, 
179.    FORD  ED.,  x,  161.     (M.,  1820.) 

19.  ABUSES,  Elections  and.— A  jealous 
care  of  the  right  of  election  by  the  people, — 
a  mild  and  safe  corrective  of  abuses  which  are 
lopped    by    the    sword    of    revolution    where 
peaceable   remedies   are  unprovided,    I   deem 
[one  of  the]  essential  principles  of  our  gov 
ernment     and,     consequently,     [one]     which 
ought  to  shape  its  administration. — FIRST  IN 
AUGURAL  ADDRESS,     viii,  4.     FORD  ED.,  viii,  4. 
(1801.) 

20.  ABUSES,  Liability  to.— What  insti 
tution   is   insusceptible   of   abuse    in    wicked 
hands?— To  L.  H.  GIRARDIN.    vi,  440.     FORD 
ED.,  ii,  151.     (M.,  1815.) 

21.  ABUSES,  Monarchical.— Nor  should 
we  wonder  at  the  pressure  [for  a  fixed  Con 
stitution  in  France  in  1788-9],  when  we  con 
sider  the  monstrous  abuses  of  power  under 
which   this   people   were   ground^  to   powder, 
when  we  pass  in  review  the  weight  of  their 
taxes,   and   inequality   of   their   distribution: 
the  oppressions  of  the  tithes,  of  the  tailles, 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Abuses 
Academy 


the  corvces,  the  gabelles,  the  farms  and  bar 
riers  :  the  shackles  on  commerce  by  monop 
olies  :  on  industry  by  guilds  and  corporations : 
on  the  freedom  of  conscience,  of  thought,  and 
of  speech :  on  the  press  by  the  Censors  and 
of  person  by  lettres  de  cachet;  the  cruelty  of 
the  criminal  code  generally,  the  atrocities  of 
the  Rack,  the  venality  of  judges,  and  their 
partialities  to  the  rich ;  the  monopoly  of  mili 
tary  honors  by  the  noblesse;  the  enormous 
expenses  of  the  Queen,  the  princes  and  the 
court ;  the  prodigalities  of  pensions ;  and  the 
riches,  luxury,  indolence,  and  immorality  of 
the  clergy.  Surely  under  such  a  mass  of  mis 
rule  and  oppression,  a  people  might  justly 
press  for  a  thorough  reformation,  and  might 
even  dismount  their  rough-shod  riders,  and 
leave  them  to  walk  on  their  own  legs. — AUTO 
BIOGRAPHY,  i,  86.  FORD  ED.,  i,  118.  (1821.) 

22.  ABUSES,    Patrimonies    in.— Happy 
for  us  that  abuses  have  not  yet  become  patri 
monies,  and  that  every  description  of  interest 
is  in  favor  of  rational  and  moderate  govern 
ment.— To  RALPH  IZARD.     ii,  429.   (P.,  1788.) 

—  ABUSES  OF  POWER.— See  POWER. 

23.  ABUSES,  Revolution  and.— When  a 
long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations  begun  at 
a  distinguished  period  and  *  pursuing  invaria 
bly  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce 
them   under   absolute   despotism,   it   is   their 
right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  gov 
ernment,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their 
future  security. — DECLARATION  OF  INDEPEND 
ENCE  AS  DRAWN  BY  JEFFERSON. 

24.  ABUSES,      Temptations      to.— Nor 
should  our  Assembly  be  deluded  by  the  in 
tegrity  of  their  own  purposes,  and  conclude 
that   these   unlimited   powers   will    never   be 
abused,  because  themselves  are  not  disposed 
to  abuse  them.     They  should  look  forward  to 
a  time,   and   that   not   a   distant   one,   when 
corruption   in   this   as   in   the   country   from 
which  we  derive  cur  origin,  will  have  seized 
the  heads  of  government,  and  be  spread  by 
them  through  the  body  of  the  people ;  when 
they  will  purchase  the  voices  of  the  people 
and    make    them     pay    the     price.      Human 
nature    is    the    same    on    each    side    of    the 
Atlantic,  and  will  be  alike  influenced  by  the 
same  causes.     The  time  to  guard  against  cor 
ruption  and  tyranny  is  before  they  shall  have 
gotten  hold  of  us.     It  is  better  keep  the  wolf 
out  of  the  fold,  than  to  trust  to  drawing  his 
teeth  and  talons  after  he  shall  have  entered. 
—NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,     viii,  362.     FORD  ED., 
Hi,  224.     (1782.) 

25.  ABUSES,     Tendency     to. — Mankind 
soon  learns  to  make  interested  uses  of  every 
right  and  power  which  they  possess,  or  may 
assume.     The  public  money  and  public  liberty 

*  *  will  soon  be  discovered  to  be  sources 
of  wealth  and  dominion  to  those  who  hold 
them;  distinguished,  too,  by  this  tempting 
circumstance,  that  they  are  the  instrument, 
as  well  as  the  object  of  acquisition.  With 
money  we  will  get  men,  said  Caesar,  and  with 

*  Congress    struck    out    the    words    in    italics.— 
EDITOR. 


men  we  will  get  money. — NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA. 
viii,  362.     FORD  ED.,  iii,  224.     (1782.) 

26.  ACADEMY   (The  Military),  Begin 
ning-.— It  was  proposed  [at  a  meeting  of  the 
cabinet]    to    recommend    [in   the    President's 
speech  to  Congress]   the  establishment  of  a 
Military  Academy.     I  objected  that  none  of 
the  specified  powers  given  by  the  Constitution 
to    Congress  would   authorize   this.     *    *     * 
The  President  [said],  though  it  would  be  a 
good. thing,  he  did  not  wish  to  bring  on  any 
thing   which   might   generate    heat    and    ill 
humor.     It  was,  therefore,  referred  for  fur 
ther  consideration  and  inquiry.   [At  the  next 
meeting]  I  opposed  it  as  unauthorized  by  the 
Constitution.     Hamilton  and  Knox  approved 
it    without    discussion.     Edmund    Randolph 
was  for  it,  saying  that  the  words  of  the  Con 
stitution  authorizing  Congress  to   lay  taxes 
&c.,  for  the  common  defence,  might  compre 
hend  it.     The  President  said  he  would  not 
choose  to   recommend   anything   against   the 
Constitution;  but  if  it  was  doubtful,  he  was 
so  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  this  meas 
ure,  that  he  would  refer  it  to  Congress,  and 
let  them  decide  for  themselves  whether  the 
Constitution    authorized    it    or    not. — ANAS. 
ix,  182.     FORD  ED.,  i,  270.     (Nov.  1793.) 

27.  ACADEMY     (The     Military),    En 
largement. — The  scale  on  which  the  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point  was  originally  estab 
lished,  is  become  too  limited  to    furnish  the 
number  of    well-instructed    subjects    in    the 
different  branches  of  artillery  and  engineering 
which  the  public  service  calls  for.     The  want 
of   such   characters    is    already    sensibly   felt, 
and  will  be  increased  with  the  enlargement 
of  our  plans  of   military   preparation.     The 
chief  engineer  having  been  instructed  to  con 
sider  the  subject,  and  to  propose  an  augmen 
tation  which  might  render  the  establishment 
commensurate  with  the  present  circumstances 
of  our  country,  has  made  the  report  I  now 
transmit  for  the  consideration  of  Congress. — 
SPECIAL  MESSAGE,     viii,  101.     (March  1808.) 

28.  ACADEMY  (The  Military),  Impor 
tance  of. — I  have  ever  considered  lhat  estab 
lishment   as   of    major    importance    to    our 
country,  and  in  whatever  I  could  do  for  it, 
I  viewed  myself  as  performing  a  duty  only. 
*    *     *    The  real  debt  of  the  institution  is 
to  its  able  and  zealous  professors. — To  JARED 
MANSFIELD,     vii,  203.     (M.,  1821.) 

29.  ACADEMY     (The     Military),     Re 
moval. — The  idea  suggested  by  the  chief  en 
gineer   of   removing   the   institution   to   this 
place   [Washington],  is  worthy  of  attention. 
Beside  the  advantage    of    placing    it    under 
the    immediate    eye    of    the    Government,    it 
may  render  its  benefits  common  to  the  naval 
department,  and  will  furnish  opportunities  of 
selecting  on  better  information,  the  characters 
most  qualified  to  fulfil  the  duties  which  the 
public   service  may  call   for. — SPECIAL   MES 
SAGE,     viii,  101.     (March  1808.) 

30.  ACADEMY,    A    National.— I    have 
often  wished  we  could  have  a  Philosophical 
Society,  or  Academy,   so  organized  as  that 


Academy 
Academies 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


while  the  central  academy  should  «be  at  the 
seat  of  government,  its  members  dispersed 
over  the  States,  should  constitute  filiated 
academies  in  each  State,  publish  their  com 
munications,  from  which  the  Central  Acad 
emy  should  select  unpublished  what  should 
be  most  choice.  In  this  way  all  the  members, 
wheresoever  dispersed,  might  be  brought  into 
action,  and  an  useful  emulation  might  arise 
between  the  filiated  societies.  Perhaps  the 
great  societies,  now  existing,  might  incorpo 
rate  themselves  in  this  way  with  the  National 
one.  To  JOEL  BARLOW.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  424. 
(Feb.  1806.) 

31.  ACADEMY,    Need   of   a   Naval.— I 
think    *    *    *    that  there  should  be  a  school 
of  instruction  for  our  Navy  as  well  as  artil 
lery  ;    and  I  do  not  see  why  the  same  establish 
ment  might  not  suffice   for  both.     Both  re 
quire  the  same  basis  of  general  mathematics, 
adding  projectiles  and  fortifications  for  the 
artillery  exclusively,  and  astronomy  and  the 
ory  of  navigation  exclusively  for  the  naval 
students.      Berout    conducted    both     schools 
in  France,  and  has  left  us  the  best  book  ex 
tant  for  their  joint  and  separate  instruction. 
It  ought  not  to  require  a  separate  professor.* 
— To  JOHN  ADAMS,   vii,  218.    (M.,  1821.) 

32.  ACADEMY,  Transfer  of  Geneva. — 

I  *  *  *  enclose  for  your  perusal  and  con 
sideration  *  *  *  the  proposition  of  M.  D'lyer- 
nois,  a  Genevan  of  .considerable  distinction, 
to  translate  the  Academy  of  Geneva  in  a  body 
to  this  country.  You  know  well  that  the  col 
leges  of  Edinburgh  and  Geneva  as  seminaries 
of  science,  are  considered  as  the  two  eyes  of 
Europe.  While  Great  Britain  and  America  give 
the  preference  to  the  former,  all  other  coun 
tries  give  it  to  the  latter.  I  am  fully  sensible 
that  two  powerful  obstacles  are  in  the  way  of 
this  proposition.  First,  the  expense  ;  secondly, 
the  communication  of  science  in  foreign  lan 
guages  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  French  and  Latin ; 
but  I  have  been  so  long  absent  from  my  own 
country  as  to  be  an  incompetent  judge  either  of 
the  force  of  the  objections,  or  of  the  disposi 
tion  of  those  who  are  to  decide  on  them.  *  * 
What  I  have  to  request  of  you  is,  that  you  will 
*  *  *  consider  his  proposition,  consult  on 
its  expediency  and  practicability  with  such  gen 
tlemen  of  the  Assembly  [of  Virginia],  as  you 
think  best,  and  take  such  other  measures  as  you 
shall  think  best  to  ascertain  what  would  be  the 
sense  of  that  body,  were  the  proposition  to  be 
hazarded  to  them.  If  yourself  and  friends  ap 
prove  of  it,  and  there  is  hope  that  the  Assembly 
will  do  so,  your  zeal  for  the  good  of  our  coun 
try  in  general,  and  the  promotion  of  science,  as 
an  instrument  towards  that,  will,  of  course,  in 
duce  you  and  them  to  bring  it  forward  in  such  a 
way  as  you  shall  judge  best.  If,  on  the  con 
trary,  you  disapprove  of  it  yourselves,  or  think 
it  would  be  desperate  with  the  Assembly,  be  so 
good  as  to  return  it  to  me  with  such  information 
as  I  may  hand  forward  to  M.  D'lvernois,  to 
put  him  out  of  suspense.  Keep  the  matter  by 
all  means  out  of  the  public  papers,  and  particu 
larly,  *  *  *  do  not  couple  my  name  with 
the  proposition  if  brought  forward,  because  ^it 
is  much  my  wish  to  be  in  nowise  implicated  in 
public  affairs. — To  WILSON  NICHOLAS,  iv,  109. 
FORD  EDM  vi,  513.  (M.,  Nov.  1794.) 

*  The  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis  was  opened  in 
1845.  The  credit  of  its  foundation  is  due  to  George 
Bancroft,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  the  Navy.— 
EDITOR. 


33. I  have  returned,  with  infinite 

appetite,  to  the  enjoyment  of  my  farm,  my  fam 
ily  and  my  books,  and  had  determined  to  med 
dle  in  nothing  beyond  their  limits.  Your  propo 
sition,  however,  for  transplanting  the  college  of 
Geneva  to  my  own  country,  was  too  analogous 
to  all  my  attachments  to  science,  and  freedom, 
the  first-born  daughter  of  science,  not  to  excite  a 
lively  interest  in  my  mind,  and  the  essays  which 
were  necessary  to  try  its  practicability.  This 
depended  altogether  on  the  opinions  and  dis 
positions  of  our  State  Legislature,  which  was 
then  in  session.  I  immediately  communicated 
your  papers  to  a  member  of  the  Legislature, 
whose  abilities  and  zeal  pointed  him  out  as 
proper  for  it,  urging  him  to  sound  as  many  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  Legislature  as  he 
could,  and  if  he  found  their  opinions  favorable, 
to  bring  forward  the  proposition ;  but  if  he 
should  find  it  desperate,  not  to  hazard  it ;  be 
cause  I  thought  it  best  not  to  commit  the  honor 
either  of  our  State  or  of  your  college,  by  an 
useless  act  of  eclat.  *  *  *  The  members 
were  generally  well-disposed  to  the  proposition, 
and  some  of  them  warmly ;  however,  there  was 
no  difference  in  the  conclusion,  that  it  could  not 
be  effected.  The  reasons  which  they  thought 
would  with  certainty  prevail  against  it,  were  i, 
that  our  youth,  not  familiarized  but  with  their 
mother  tongue,  were  not  prepared  to  receive  in 
structions  in  any  other ;  2,  that  the  expense  of 
the  institution  would  excite  uneasiness  in  their 
constituents,  and  endanger  its  permanence  ;  and 
3,  that  its  extent  was  disproportioned  to  the 
narrow  state  of  the  population  with  us.  What 
ever  might  be  urged  on  these  several  subjects, 
yet  as  the  decision  rests  with  others,  there  re 
mained  to  us  only  to  regret  that  circumstances 
were  such,  or  were  thought  to  be  such,  as  to 
disappoint  your  and  our  wishes. — To  M. 
D'lvERNois.  iv,  113.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  2.  (M., 
Feb.  I795-) 

34.  ACADEMY,    Wish    for    Geneva.— -I 

should  have  seen  with  peculiar  satisfaction  the 
establishment  of  such  a  mass  of  science  in  my 
country,  and  should  probably  have  been  tempted 
to  approach  myself  to  it,  by  procuring  a  resi 
dence  in  its  neighborhood,  at  those  seasons  of 
the  year  at  least  when  the  operations  of  agricul 
ture  are  less  active  and  interesting. — To  M. 
D'IVERNOIS.  iv,  114.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  4.  (M., 
Feb.  I795-) 

35.  ACADEMIES,      Architectural    Be- 

form. — I  consider  the  common  plan  followed 
in  this  country,  but  not  in  others,  of  making  one 
large  and  expensive  building,  as  unfortunately 
erroneous.  It  is  infinitely  better  to  erect  a 
small  and  separate  lodge  for  each  separate  pro 
fessorship,  with  only  a  hall  below  for  his  class, 
and  two  chambers  above  for  himself;  joining 
these  lodges  by  barracks  for  a  certain  portion 
of  the  students,  opening  into  a  covered  way  to 
give  a  dry  communication  between  all  the 
schools.  The  whole  of  these  arranged  around 
an  open  square  of  grass  and  trees,  would  make 
it,  what  it  should  be  in  fact,  an  academical  vil 
lage,  instead  of  a  large  and  common  den  of 
noise,  of  filth  and  of  fetid  air.  It  would  afford 
that  quiet  retirement  so  friendly  to  study,  and 
lessen  the  dangers  of  fire,  infection  and  tumult. 
Every  professor  would  be  the  police  officer  of 
the  students  adjacent  to  his  own  lodge,  which 
should  include  those  of  his  own  class  of 
preference,  and  might  be  at  the  head  of  their 
table,  if,  as  I  suppose,  it  can  be  reconciled  with 
the  necessary  economy  to  dine  them  in  smaller 
and  separate  parties,  rather  than  in  a  large  and 
common  mess.  These  separate  buildings,  too, 
might  be  erected  successively  and  occasionally, 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Accent 
Actions 


as  the  number  of  professors  and  students  should 
be  increased,  as  the  funds  become  competent. — 
To  HUGH  L.  WHITE,  v,  521.  (M.,  1810.) 

—  ACCENT,     The     Greek.— See     LAN 
GUAGES. 

36.  ACCOUNTS,    Complicated.— Alexan 
der    Hamilton    *    *     *    in    order    that    he 
might   have   the   entire   government    of    his 
[Treasury]   machine,  determined  so  to  com 
plicate  it  as  that  neither  the  President  nor 
Congress  should  be  able  to  understand  it,  or 
to  control  him.     He  succeeded  in  doing  this, 
not  only  beyond  their  reach,  but  so  that  he  at 
length    could    not    unravel    it    himself.     He 
gave  to  the  debt,  in  the  first  instance,  in  fund 
ing  it,  the  most  artificial  and  mysterious  form 
he     could     devise.     He     then     moulded     up 
his    appropriations    of    a    number    of    scraps 
and   remnants,   many   of   which   were   noth 
ing    at    all,    and    applied    them    to    differ 
ent    objects    in    reversion    and     remainder, 
until  the  whole  system  was  involved  in  im 
penetrable  fog ;  and  while  he  was  giving  him 
self  the  airs  of  providing  for  the  payment  of 
the  debt,  he  left  himself  free  to  add  to  it  con 
tinually,  as  he  did  in  fact,  instead  of  paying 
it. — To    ALBERT    GALLATIN.     iv,    428.     FORD 
ED.,  viii,  140.     (W.,  1801.) 

37.  ACCOUNTS,      Keeping.— All      these 
articles    are    very    foreign    to    my    talents,    and 
foreign   also,    as   I    conceive,   to   the   nature   of 
my   duties.     *     *     *     I    suppose   it   practicable 
for  your  board  to  direct  the  administration  of 
your    moneys    here    [Paris]    in    every    circum 
stance. — To     SAMUEL    OSGOOD.     i,    451.       (P., 
1785.) 

38.  ACCOUNTS,  Neglected.— It  is  a  fact, 
which  we  [Virginia]  are  to  lament,  that,  in  the 
earlier  part  of  our  struggles,  we  were  so  wholly 
occupied  by  the  great  object  of  establishing  our 
rights,  that  we  attended  not  at  all  to  those  little 
circumstances  of  taking  receipts  and  vouchers, 
keeping   regular   accounts,    and   preparing    sub 
jects  for  future  disputes  with  our  friends.     If 
we  could  have  supported  the  whole  Continent, 
I   believe  we   should   have   done   it,   and   never 
dishonored  our  nation  by  producing  accounts  ; 
sincerely  assured  that,  in  no  circumstances  of 
future  necessity  or  distress,  a  like  free  applica 
tion    of    anything    therein    would    have    been 
thought  hardly  of,  or  would  have  rendered  nec 
essary    an    appeal   to    accounts.     Hence,    it    has 
happened  that,  in  the  present  case,  the  collec 
tion  of  vouchers  of  the  arms  furnished  by  this 
State  has  become  tedious  and  difficult. — To  THE 
PRESIDENT    OF    CONGRESS.     FORD   LD.,   ii,    283, 
(W.,  1779.) 

39.  ACCOUNTS,    Simple.— The   accounts 
of  the  United  States  ought  to  be,  and  may  be 
made,    as    simple    as    those    of    a    common 
farmer,  and  capable  of  being  understood  by 
common  farmers. — To  JAMES  MADISON,     iv, 
131.    FORD  ED.,  vii,  61.     (M.,  1706.) 

40. .  if    *    *    *     [there]  can  be 

added  a  simplification  of  the  form  of  accounts 
in  the  Treasury  department,  and  in  the  or 
ganization  of  its  officers,  so  as  to  bring  every 
thing  to  a  single  centre,  we  might  hope  to 
see  the  finances  of  the  Union  as  clear  and 
intelligible  as  a  merchant's  books,  so  that 


every  member  of  Congress,  and  every  man 
of  any  mind  in  the  Union,  should  be  able  to 
comprehend  them,  to  investigate  abuses,  and 
consequently  to  control  them.  Our  pre 
decessors  have  endeavored  by  intrica 
cies  of  system,  and  shuffling  the  investi 
gation  over  from  one  officer  to  another,  to 
cover  everything  from  detection.  I  hope  we 
shall  go  in  the  contrary  direction,  and  that, 
by  our  honest  and  judicious  reformations,  we 
may  be  able  in  the  limits  of  our  time,  to  bring 
things  back  to  that  simple  and  intelligible 
system,  on  which  they  should  have  been  or 
ganized  at  first. — To  ALBERT  GALLATIN.  iv, 
429.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  141.  (W.,  1802.) 

-   ACQUISITION   OF  TERRITORY.— 

See  TERRITORY. 

41.  ACTIONS,  Approved.— The  very  ac 
tions    [on]    which    Mr.     Pickering    arraigns 
[me]   have  been  such  as  the  great  majority 
of  my  fellow  citizens   have  approved.     The 
approbation  of  Mr.   Pickering,  and  of  those 
who  thought  with  him     [the   Federalists],  I 
had  no  right  to  expect.— To  MARTIN  VAN- 
BUREN.     vii,   363.     FORD  ED.,   x,   306.     (M., 
1824.) 

42.  ACTIONS,  Disinterested.— I  am  con 
scious  of  having  always  intended  to  do  what 
was  best  for  my  fellow  citizens ;  and  never, 
for  a  single  moment,  to  have  listened  to  any 
personal   interest  of  my  own. — To  RICHARD 
M.  JOHNSTON,   v,  256.    (W.,  1808.) 

43. My  public  proceedings  were 

always  directed  by  a  single  view  to  the  best 
interests  of  our  country. — To  DR.  E.  GRIFF 
ITH,  v,  450.  (M.,  1809.) 

44. In    the    transaction    of    the 

[public]  affairs  I  never  felt  one  interested 
motive. — To  W.  LAMBERT,  v,  450.  (M  May 
1809.) 

45.  ACTIONS,    Government    and.— The 
legislative     powers     of     government     reach 
actions    only    and    not    opinions. — R.    TO    A. 
DANBURY  BAPTIST  ADDRESS,   viii,  113.  (1802.) 

46.  ACTIONS,  Honest  Principles  and.— 
Every  honest  man  will  suppose  honest  acts 
to  flow  from  honest  principles,  and  the  rogues 
may  rail  without  intermission.— To  DR.  BEN 
JAMIN  RUSH,    iv,  426.    FORD    ED.,    viii,    126. 
(W.,  1801.) 

47.  ACTIONS,  Indulgent  to.— I  owe  in 
finite    acknowledgments     to    the     republican 
portion  of  my  fellow  citizens  for  the  indul 
gence  with  which  they  have  viewed  my  pro 
ceedings  generally. — To  W.  LAMBERT,   v,  450. 
(M.,  May  1809.)    See  DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

48.  ACTIONS,      Judgment      and.— Up 
wards  of  thirty  years  passed  on  the  stage  of 
public    life   and   under   the   public   eye,    may 
surely  enable  them  to    judge    whether    my 
future   course   is   likely  to  be   marked   with 
those  departures  from  reason  and  moderation, 
which  the  passions  of  men  have  been  willing 
to  foresee. — To  WILLIAM  JACKSON,    iv,  358. 
(M.,  1801.) 


Actions 
Adams  (John) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


49.  ACTIONS,       Lawful.— Every       man 
should  be  protected  in  his  lawful  acts. — To 
ISAAC  McPHERSON.   vi,  175.    (M.,  1813.) 

50.  ACTIONS,    Present    and    future.— 

Our  duty  is  to  act  upon  things  as  they  are, 
and  to  make  a  reasonable  provision  for  what 
ever  they  may  be. — SIXTH  ANNUAL  MESSAGE. 
viii,  69.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  405-  (Dec.  1806.) 

51.  ACTIONS,  Publicity  and.— I  fear  no 
injury  which  any  man  can  do  me.     I  have 
never  done  a  single  act,  or  been  concerned  in 
any  transaction,  which  I  fear  to  have  fully 
laid  open,  or  which  could  do    me  any  hurt  if 
truly    stated.     I    have    never    done    a    single 
thing  with  a  view  to  my  personal  interest,  or 
that  of  any  friend,  or  with  any  other  view 
than  that  of  the  greatest  public  good ;  there 
fore,  no   threat  or  fear  on  that  head  will  ever 
be  a  motive  of  action  with  me.  * — ANAS,    ix, 
209.    FORD  ED.,  i,  312.    (1806.) 

52.  ACTIONS,    Purity    of.— I    can    con 
scientiously  declare  that  as  to  myself,  I  wish 
that  not  only  no  act  but  no  thought  of  mine 
should   be   unknown.— To  JAMES   MAIN,     v, 
373-    (W.,  1808.) 

53.  ACTIONS,    Bight.— The    precept    of 
Providence  is,  to  do  always  what  is  right,  and 
leave  the  issue  to  Him.— To  MRS.  COSWAY. 
ii,  41.    FORD  ED.,  iv,  320.    (P.,  1786.) 

54.  ACTIONS,  Rule  for.— Whenever  you 
are  to  do  a  thing,  though  it  can  never  be 
known  but  to  yourself,  ask  yourself  how  you 
would  act  were  all  the  world  looking  at  you, 
and  act  accordingly,  f— To  PETER  CARR.  i,  396. 
(Ps.,  1785.) 

55. When  tempted  to  do  any 
thing  in  secret,  ask  yourself  if  you  would 
do  it  in  public ;  if  you  would  not,  be  sure  it 
is  wrong.}— To  FRANCIS  EPPES.  D.  L.  J.  365. 

56.  ACTIONS,  Virtuous.— If  no  action  is 
to  be  deemed  virtuous  for  which  malice  can 
imagine  a  sinister  motive,  then  there  never 
was  a  virtuous  action ;  no,  not  even  in  the 
life  of  our   Saviour   Himself.     But   He   has 
taught  us  to  judge  the  tree  by  its  fruit,  and 
to  leave  motives  to  Him  who  can  alone  see 
into  them. — To  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN.  vii,  363. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  307  (M.,  1824.) 

—  AD  AIR  (James),  Views  on  Indians.— 
See  INDIANS. 

57.  ADAMS    (John),  Administration  of. 
— If  the  understanding  of  the  people  could  be 
rallied  to  the  truth  on  the  subject   [of  the 
French  negotiations  and  the  X.  Y.  Z.  plot,]^ 
by  exposing  the  deception  practiced  on  them, 
there  are  so  many  other  things  about  to  bear 
on   them   favorably   for  the   resurrection   of 
their  republican  spirit,  that  a  reduction  of  the 
administration    to     constitutional     principles 
cannot  fail  to  be  the  effect.     There  are  the 

*  Aaron  Burr,  in  asking  Jefferson  for  office,  inti 
mated  that  he  could  do  Jefferson  "much  harm" 
This  was  Jefferson's  defiance.— EDITOR. 

i  Peter  Carr  was  the  young  nephew  of  Jefferson — 
EDITOR. 

$  Francis  Eppes  was  a  grandson,  then  at  school.— 
EDITOR. 

§See  X.  Y.  Z.  plot  post.— EDITOR. 


Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  the  vexations  of  the 
stamp  act,  the  disgusting  particularities  of  the 
direct  tax,  the  additional  army  without  an 
enemy,  and  recruiting  officers  lounging  at 
every  court  house,  a  navy  of  fifty  ships,  five 
millions  to  be  raised  to  build  it,  on  the 
ruinous  interest  of  eight  per  cent.,  the  perse 
verance  in  war  on  our  part,  when  the  French 
government  shows  such  an  anxious  desire  to 
<eep  at  peace  with  us,  taxes  of  ten  millions 
now  paid  by  four  millions  of  people,  and  yet 
a  necessity,  in  a  year  or  two,  of  raising  five 
millions  more  for  annual  expenses.  Those 
things  will  immediately  be  bearing  on  the 
public  mind,  and  if  it  remain  not  still  blinded 
a  supposed  necessity,  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  our  independence  and  defending 
our  country,  they  will  set  things  to  rights.  I 
hope  you  will  undertake  this  statement. — To 
EDMUND  PENDLETON.  iv,  275.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
337.  (Pa.,  Jan.  1799.)  See  1056. 

58. We  were  far  from  consider 
ing  you  as  the  author  of  all  the  measures  we 
blamed.  They  were  placed  under  the  pro 
tection  of  your  name,  but  we  were  satisfied 
they  wanted  much  of  your  approbation.  We 
ascribed  them  to  their  real  authors,  the  Pick 
erings,  Wolcotts,  the  Tracys,  the  Sedgwicks, 
et  id  genus  omne,  with  whom  we  supposed  you 
in  a  state  of  duresse.  I  well  remember  a 
conversation  with  you  in  the  morning  of  the 
day  on  which  you  nominated  to  the  Senate 
a  substitute  for  Pickering,  in  which  you  ex 
pressed  a  just  impatience  under  "  the  legacy 
of  secretaries  which  General  Washington  had 
left  you,"  and  whom  you  seemed,  therefore, 
to  consider  as  under  public  protection. 
Many  other  incidents  showed  how  differently 
you  would  have  acted  with  less  impassioned 
advisers;  and  subsequent  events  have  proved 
that  your  minds  were  not  together.  You 
would  do  me  great  injustice,  therefore,  by 
taking  to  yourself  what  was  intended  for  men 
who  were  then  your  secret,  as  they  are  now 
your  open  enemies. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi, 
126.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  387.  (M.,  June  1813.) 

—  ADAMS    (John),    Aristocracy    and. 

— See  ARISTOCRACY. 

59.  ADAMS  (John),  Attacks  on.— With 
respect  to  the  calumnies  and  falsehoods 
which  writers  and  printers  at  large  published 
against  Mr.  Adams,  I  was  as  far  _  from 
stooping  to  any  concern  or  approbation  of 
them,  as  Mr.  Adams  was  respecting  those  of 
"  Porcupine,  "  Fenno,  or  Russell,  who  pub 
lished  volumes  against  me  for  every  sentence 
vended  by  their  opponents  against  Mr. 
Adams.  But  I  never  supposed  Mr.  Adams 
had  any  participation  in  the  atrocities  of  these 
editors,  or  their  writers.  I  knew  myself  in 
capable  of  that  base  warfare,  and  believed 
him  to  be  so.  On  the  contrary,  whatever  I 
may  have  thought  of  the  acts  of  the  adminis 
tration  of  that  day,  I  have  ever  borne  testi 
mony  to  Mr.  Adams's  personal  worth;  nor 
was  it  ever  impeached  in  ^my  presence, 
without  a  just  vindication  of  it  on  my  part. 
I  never  supposed  that  any  person  who  knew 
either  of  us,  could  believe  that  either  of  us 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Adams  (tiohn) 


meddled  in  that  dirty  work. — To  MRS.  JOHN 
ADAMS,  iv,  555.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  309.  (W.,  July 
1804.) 

60. Mr.  Adams  has  been  alien 
ated  from  me,  by  belief  in  the  lying  sugges 
tions  contrived  for  electioneering  purposes, 
that  I  perhaps  mixed  in  the  activity  and  in 
trigues  of  the  occasion.  My  most  intimate 
friends  can  testify  that  I  was  perfectly 
passive.  They  would  sometimes,  indeed,  tell 
me  what  was  going  on;  but  no  man  ever 
heard  me  take  part  in  such  conversations ; 
and  none  ever  misrepresented  Mr.  Adams 
in  my  presence,  without  my  asserting  his  just 
character.  With  very  confidential  persons  I 
have  doubtless  disapproved  of  the  principles 
and  practices  of  his  administration.  This  was 
unavoidable.  But  never  with  those  with  whom 
it  could  do  him  any  injury.  Decency  would 
have  required  this  conduct  from  me,  if  dispo 
sition  had  not,  and  I  am  satisfied  Mr. 
Adams's  conduct  was  equally  honorable  to 
wards  me.  But  I  think  it  part  of  his  charac 
ter  to  suspect  foul  play  in  those  of  whom  he  is 
jealous,  and  not  easily  to  relinquish  his  sus 
picions. — To  DR.  BENJAMIN  RUSH,  v,  563. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  299.  (M.,  Jan.  1811.) 

61.  ADAMS  (John),  Character.— He  is 
vain,  irritable,  and  a  bad  calculator  of  the 
force  and  probable  effect  of  the  motives 
which  govern  men.  This  is  all  the  ill 
which  can  possibly  be  said  of  him.  He  is 
as  disinterested  as  the  Being  who  made  him. 
He  is  profound  in  his  views,  and  accurate 
in  his  judgment,  except  where  knowledge  of 
the  world  is  necessary  to  form  a  judgment. 
He  is  so  amiable  that  I  pronounce  you  will 
love  him,  if  ever  you  become  acquainted  with 
him.  He  would  be,  as  he  was,  a  great  man  in 
Congress. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  ii,  107. 
(P,  1787.) 

62. His  vanity  is  a  lineament  in 

his  character  which  had  entirely  escaped  me. 
His  want  of  taste  I  had  observed.  Notwith 
standing  all  this  he  has  a  sound  head  on  sub 
stantial  points,  and  I  think  he  has  integrity. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  309.  (B., 
Feb.  1783.) 

63.  -  -  The     President's     title,     as 

Eroposed  by  the  Senate,  was  the  most  super- 
itively  ridiculous  thing  I  ever  heard  of.  It 
is  a  proof  the  more  of  the  justice  of  the 
character  given  by  Dr.  Franklin  of  my  friend. 
Always  an  honest  man,  often  a  great  one. 
but  sometimes  absolutely  mad. — To  JAMES 
MADISON.  FORD  ED.,  v,  104.  (P.,  July  1789.) 

64.  ADAMS    (John) .Declaration  of  In 
dependence  and. — John  Adams  was  the  pil 
lar  of  its  [Declaration  of  Independence]  sup 
port  on  the  floor  of  Congress ;  its  ablest  advo 
cate   and    defender   against   the   multifarious 
assaults  it  encountered.     For  many  excellent 
persons   opposed    it    on    doubts    whether   we 
were  provided  sufficiently  with  the  means  of 
supporting  it,  whether  the  minds  of  our  con 
stituents  were  yet  prepared  to  receive  it  &c., 
who,   after   it   was   decided,   united   zealously 
in  the  measures  it  called  for. — To  WILLIAM  P. 
GARDNER.   FORD  ED.,  ix,  377.    (M.,  1813.) 


65. He  supported  the  Declara 
tion  with  zeal  and  ability,  fighting  fearlessly 
for  every  word  of  it.  No  man's  confident 
and  fervent  addresses,  more  than  Mr. 
Adams's  encouraged  and  supported  us 
through  the  difficulties  surrounding  us,  which, 
like  the  ceaseless  action  of  gravity,  weighed 
on  us  by  night  and  by  day.  * — To  JAMES  MAD 
ISON,  -vii,  305.  FORD  ED.,  x,  268.  (M.,  1823.) 

66. .  His  deep  conceptions,  ner 
vous  style,  and  undaunted  firmness,  made  him 
truly  our  bulwark  in  debate. — To  SAMUEL  A. 
WELLS,  i,  121.  FORD  ED.,  x.  131.  (M.,  1819.) 
See  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

67.  ADAMS      (John),   Departure    from 
Europe. — I  learn  with  real  pain  the  resolution 
you  have  taken  of  quitting  Europe.     Your  pres 
ence  on  this  side  the  Atlantic  gave  me  a  con 
fidence    that,    if    any    difficulties    should    arise 
within  my  department,  I  should  always  have  one 
to  advise  with  on  whose  counsels  I  could  rely. 
I  shall  now  feel  bewidowed.     I  do  not  wonder 
at  your  being  tired  out  by  the  conduct  of  the 
court   you   are   at. — To   JOHN    ADAMS,     ii,    127. 
(P.,  1787.) 

—  ADAMS  (John),  France  and.— See 
FRANCE. 

68.  ADAMS    (John),  Friendship  of  Jef 
ferson    for. — Mr.     Adams's  friendship    and 
mine  began  at  an  early  date.     It  accompanied 
us  through  long  and  important  scenes.     The  dif 
ferent    conclusions    we    had    drawn    from    our 
political    reading  and  reflections,  were  not  per 
mitted  to   lessen   personal   esteem ;     each   party 
being    conscious    they    were    the    result    of    an 
honest  conviction  in  the  other.     Like  differences 
of  opinion  existing  among  our  fellow  citizens, 
attached  them  to  one  or  the  other  of  us,  and 
produced  a  rivalship  in  their  minds  which  did 
not  exist  in  ours.     We  never  stood  in  one  an 
other's  way ;    for  if  either  had  been  withdrawn 
at  any  time,  his  favorers  would  not  have  gone 
over  to  the  other,  but  would  have  sought   for 
some  one  of  homogeneous  opinions.     This  con 
sideration  was  sufficient  to  keep  down  all  jeal 
ousy  between  us,  and  to  guard  our  friendship 
from    any   disturbance   by   sentiments   of   rival- 
ship.f — To  MRS.  JOHN  ADAMS,     iv,  545.     FORD 
ED.,  viii,  306.     (W.,  June  1804.) 

69. .     I  write  you  this  letter  as 

clue  to  a  friendship  coeval  with  our  government, 
and  now  attempted  to  be  poisoned,  when  too  late 
in  life  to  be  replaced  by  new  affections.  I  had 
for  some  time  observed  in  the  public  papers, 
dark  hints  and  mysterious  innuendoes  of  a  cor 
respondence  of  yours  with  a  friend,  to  whom 
you  had  opened  your  bosom  without  reserve, and 
which  was  to  be  made  public  by  that  friend  or 

*  Daniel  Webster  visited  Jefferson  at  Monticello 
toward  the  close  of  1824.  He  quoted  Jefferson  as 
having  then  said  in  conversation:  "John  Adams 
was  our  Colossus  on  the  floor.  He  was  not  graceful, 
nor  elegant,  nor  remarkably  fluent ;  but  he  came 
out,  occasionally,  with  a  power  of  thought  and  ex 
pression  that  moved  us  from  our  seats."  Webster 
introduced  the  quotation  in  his  speech  on  "Adams 
and  Jefferson,"  August  2,  1826.  The  conversation 
entire  is  printed  in  the  Private  Correspondence  of 
Webster  (i,  364),  and  in  the  FORD  ED.  of  Jefferson's 
Writings,  x,  327.— EDITOR. 

t  A  reference  to  the  u  Midnight  Appointments"of 
Mr.  Adams  in  this  letter  led  Mrs.  Adams  to  make  a 
spirited  attack  on  Jefferson's  administration.  Jef 
ferson's  reply,  and  also  his  correspondence  with  Dr. 
Rush,  which  led  to  a  reconciliation  with  Mr.  Adams 
will  be  found  in  the  Appendix  to  this  volume.— 
EDITOR. 


Adams  (John) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


8 


his  representative.  And  now  it  is  said  to  be 
actually  published.  It  has  not  yet  reached  us, 
but  extracts  have  been  given,  and  such  as 
seemed  most  likely  to  draw  a  curtain  of  separa 
tion  between  you  and  myself.  Were  there  no 
other  motive  than  that  of  indignation  against 
the  author  of  this  outrage  on  private  confi 
dence,  whose  shaft  seems  to  have  been  aimed  at 
yourself  more  particularly,  this  would  make  it 
the  duty  of  every  honorable  mind  to  disappoint 
that  aim,  by  opposing  to  its  impression  a  seven 
fold  shield  of  apathy  and  insensibility.  With 
me,  however,  no  such  armor  is  needed.  The  cir 
cumstances  of  the  times  in  which  we  have  hap 
pened  to  live,  and  the  partiality  of  our  friends 
at  a  particular  period,  placed  us  in  a  state  of 
apparent  opposition,  which  some  might  suppose 
to  be  personal  also ;  and  there  might  not  be 
wanting  those  who  wished  to  make  it  so,  by 
filling  our  ears  with  malignant  falsehoods,  by 
dressing  up  hideous  phantoms  of  their  own 
creation,  presenting  them  to  you  under  my 
name,  to  me  under  yours,  and  endeavoring  to 
instil  into  our  minds  things  concerning  each 
other  the  most  destitute  of  truth.  And  if  there 
had  been,  at  any  time,  a  moment  when  we  were 
off  our  guard,  and  in  a  temper  to  let  the  whis 
pers  of  these  people  make  us  forget  what  we 
had  known  of  each  other  for  so  many  years,  and 
years  of  so  much  trial,  yet  all  men  who  have 
attended  to  the  workings  of  the  human  mind, 
who  have  seen  the  false  colors  under  which 
passion  sometimes  dresses  the  actions  and  mo 
tives  of  others,  have  seen  also  those  passions 
subsiding  with  time  and  reflection,  dissipating 
like  mists  before  the  rising  sun,  and  restoring 
to  us  the  sight  of  all  things  in  their  true  shape 
and  colors.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if, 
at  our  years,  we  were  to  go  back  an  age  to 
hunt  up  imaginary  or  forgotten  facts,  to  dis 
turb  the  repose  of  affections  so  sweetening  to 
the  evening  of  our  lives.  Be  assured,  my 
dear  sir,  that  I  am  incapable  of  receiving  the 
slightest  impression  from  the  effort  now  made 
to  plant  thorns  on  the  pillow  of  age,  worth  and 
wisdom,  and  to  sow  tares  between  friends  who 
have  been  such  for  near  half  a  century.  Be 
seeching  you,  then,  not  to  suffer  your  mind  to 
be  disquieted  by  this  wicked  attempt  to  poison 
its  peace,  and  praying  you  to  throw  it  by 
among  the  things  which  have  never  happened, 
I  add  sincere  assurances  of  my  unabated  and 
constant  attachment,  friendship  and  respect. — 
-To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vii,  314.  FORD  EDV  x,  273. 
(M.,  1823.) 

70. .     Fortune  had  disjointed  our 

first  affections,  and  placed  us  in  opposition  in 
every  point.  This  separated  us  for  awhile. 
But  on  the  first  intimation  through  a  friend, 
we  re-embraced  with  cordiality,  recalled  our 
ancient  feelings  and  dispositions,  and  every 
thing  was  forgotten  but  our  first  sympathies. — 
I  bear  ill-will  to  no  human  being. — To  JAMES 
MONROE.  FORD  ED.,  x,  298.  (M.,  1824.) 

71.  ADAMS  (John), George  III.  and.— 

The  sentiments  you  expressed  [in  your  ad 
dress  on  presentation  to  the  King]  were  such 
as  were  entertained  in  America  till  the  com 
mercial  proclamation,  and  such  as  would 
again  return  were  a  rational  conduct  to  be 
adopted  by  Great  Britain.  I  think,  therefore, 
you  by  no  means  compromised  yourself,  or 
our  country,  nor  expressed  more  than  it 
would  be  our  interest  to  encourage,  if  they 
were  disposed  to  meet  us. — To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
i,  436.  (P.,  September  1785.) 

72.  ADAMS     (John),  Honesty.— I    have 
the  same  good  opinion  of  Mr.  Adams  which  I 


ever  had.  I  know  him  to  be  an  honest  man, 
an  able  one  with  his  pen,  and  he  was  a  powerful 
advocate  on  the  floor  of  Congress. — To  DR.  BEN 
JAMIN  RUSH,  v,  562.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  298.  (M., 
1811.) 

73.  ADAMS   (John),  Integrity  .—Though 
I  saw  that  our  ancient  friendship  was  affected 
by  a  little  leaven,  produced  partly  by  his  con 
stitution,   partly   by  the  contrivance  of   others, 
yet    I    never    felt    a    diminution -of    confidence 
in  his  integrity,  and  retained  a  solid  affection 
for  him.     His  principles  of  government  I  knew 
to  be  changed,  but  conscientiously  changed. — 
To   JAMES    MADISON,     iv,    161.     FORD   ED.,   vii, 
108.     (M.,  Jan.  1797.) 

74.  ADAMS       (John),     Jefferson     and 
Election  of. — The  public  and  the  papers  have 
been  much  occupied  lately  in  placing  us  in 
a  point  of  opposition  to  each  other.     I  trust 
with  confidence  that  less  of  it  has  been  felt 
by  ourselves  personally.     In  the  retired  can 
ton  where  I  am,  I  learn  little  of  what  is  pass 
ing  ;  pamphlets  I  never  see ;  papers  but  a  few, 
and  the   fewer  the  happier.     Our  latest   in 
telligence  from  Philadelphia  at  present  is  of 
the  i6th  inst.,  but  though  at  that  date  your 
election   to   the   first    magistracy    seems    not 
to  have  been  known  as  a  fact,  yet  with  me 
it  has  never  been  doubted.   I  knew  it  impossi 
ble    you   should   lose   a   vote    North   of   the 
Delaware,  and  even  if  that  of  Pennsylvania 
should  be  against  you  in  the  mass,  yet  that 
you  would  get  enough  South  of  that  to  place 
your  succession  out  of  danger.     I  have  never 
one  single  moment  expected  a  different  issue ; 
and  though  I  know  I  shall  not  be  believed,  yet 
it  is  not  the  less  true  that  I  have  never  wished 
it.     My  neighbors  as  my  compurgators  could 
aver  that  fact,  because  they  see  my  occupa 
tions  and  my  attachment  to  them.     Indeed 
it  is  impossible  that  you  may  be  cheated  of 
your  succession  by  a  trick  worthy  the  subtle 
ty  of  your  arch-friend  of  New  York  [Alex 
ander  Hamilton]  who  has  been  able  to  make 
of  your  real  friends  tools  to  defeat  their  and 
your  just  wishes.     Most  probably  he  will  be 
disappointed  as  to  you;  and  my  inclinations 
place  me  out  of  his    reach.     I  leave  to  others 
the  sublime  delights  of  riding  in  the  storm, 
better  pleased  with  sound  sleep  and  a  warm 
berth  below,   with  the  society  of  neighbors, 
friends    and    fellow-laborers    of    the    earth, 
than    of    spies    and    sycophants.      No    one 
then  will  congratulate  you  with  purer  disin 
terestedness  than  myself.    The    share,  indeed, 
which  I   may  have  had  in  the  late  vote,   I 
shall  value  highly  as  an  evidence  of  the  share 
I  have  in  the  esteem  of  my  fellow  citizens. 
But  while  in  this  point  of  view,  a  few  votes 
less  would  be  little  sensible,  the  difference  in 
the  effect  of  a  few  more  would  be  very  sensi 
ble  and  oppressive  to  me.     I  have  no  ambition 
to  govern  men.    It  is  a  painful  and  thankless 
office.     Since  the  day,   too,    on    which    you 
signed  the  treaty  of  Paris  our  horizon  was 
never  so  overcast.     I  devoutly    wish  you  may 
be  able  to  shun  for  us  this  war  by  which  our 
agriculture,  commerce  and  credit  will  be  de 
stroyed.     If  you  are,  the  glory  will  be  all  your 
own ;   and  that  your  administration  may  be 
filled  with  glory^  and  happiness  to  yourself 
and  advantage  to  us  is  the  sincere  wish  of  one 


9 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Adams  (John) 


who,  though  in  the  course  of  our  own  voyage 
through  life  various  little  incidents  have  hap 
pened  or  been  contrived  to  separate  us,  re 
tains  still  for  you  the  solid  esteem  of  the  mo 
ments  when  we  were  working  for  our  inde 
pendence,  and  sentiments  of  respect  and  af 
fectionate  attachment.* — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  iv, 
153.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  95.  (Dec.  28,  1796.) 

75. .     Mr.     Adams    and    myself 

were  cordial  friends  from  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolution.  Since  our  return  from  Europe, 
some  little  incidents  have  happened,  which 
were  capable  of  affecting  a  jealous  mind  like 
his.  His  deviation  from  that  line  of  politics 
on  which  we  had  been  united,  has  not  made 
me  less  sensible  of  the  rectitude  of  his  heart; 
and  I  wished  him  to  know  this,  and  also  an 
other  truth,  that  I  am  sincerely  pleased  at 
having  escaped  the  late  draft  for  the  helm, 
and  have  not  a  wish  which  he  stands 
in  the  way  of.  That  he  should  be  convinced 
of  these  truths,  is  important  to  our  mutual 
satisfaction,  and  perhaps  to  the  harmony  and 
good  of  the  public  service.  But  there  was  a 
difficulty  in  conveying  them  to  him,  and  a 
possibility  that  the  attempt  might  do  mischief 
there  or  somewhere  else;  and  I  would  not 
have  hazarded  the  attempt,  if  you  had  not 
been  in  place  to  decide  upon  its  expediency. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON,  iv,  166.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
115.  (M.,  Jan.  1797.) 

76. .     You  express  apprehensions 

that   stratagems  will  be  used  to  produce   a 
misunderstanding  between  the  President  and 
myself.     Though  not  a    word    having    this 
tendency  has  ever  been  hazarded  to  me  by 
anyone,  yet  I  consider  as  a  certainty    that 
nothing    will    be    left    untried    to    alienate 
him  from  me.     These  machinations  will  pro 
ceed  from  the  Hamiltonians  by  whom  he  is 
surrounded,  and  who  are  only  a  little  less  hos 
tile  to  him  than  to  me.     It    cannot  but  damp 
the  pleasure  of  cordiality  when  we  suspect 
that  it  is  suspected.     I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  it  is  impossible  for  Mr.  Adams  to  believe 
that  the  state  of  my  mind  is  what  it  really  is 
that  he  may  think  I   view   him   as   an   ob 
stacle  in  my  way.     I  have  no   supernatura 
power    to    impress    truth    on    the    mind    oi 
another,  nor  he  any  to  discover  that  the  esti 
mate  he  may  form,  on  a  just  view  of  the 
human   mind   as  generally  constituted,   may 
not  be  just  in  its  application  to  a  special  con 
stitution.  This  may  be  a  source  of  private  nn 
easiness  to  us ;  I  honestly  confess  that  it  i 
so  to  me  at  this  time.     But  neither  of  us  is 
capable  of  letting  it  have  effect  on  our  publi 
duties.     Those  who  may  endeavor  to  separat 
us,  are  probably  excited  by  the  fear  that  I 
might  have  influence  on  the  Executive  coun 
cils;  but  when  they  shall  know  that  I  con 

*  Jefferson  sent  this  letter  to  Madison  who  decidei 
that  it  would  be  inexpedient  to  forward  it  to  Adams 
"  I  am  very  thankful,"  Jefferson  wrote  to  Madison 
m  January,  1797  (iv,  166,  FORD  ED.,  vii,  115),  "to 
the  discretion  you  have  exercised  over  the  letter 
That  has  happened  to  be  the  case,  which  I  knew  t 
be  possible,  that  the  honest  expression  of  my  feeling 
towards  Mr.  Adams  might  be  rendered  malapropo 
from  circumstances  existing,  and  known  at  the  sea 
of  government,  but  not  known  by  me  in  my  retire 
situation.  "—EDITOR. 


ider  my  office  as  constitutionally  confined 
o  legislative  functions,  and  that  I  could  not 
ake  any  part  whatever  in  executive  consulta- 
ions,  even  were  it  proposed,  their  fears 
nay  perhaps  subside,  and  their  object  be 
ound  not  worth  a  machination. — To  EL- 
miDGE  GERRY,  iv,  171.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  120.  (May 
797-) 

77.  ADAMS     (John),  Jefferson's    Elec- 
ion  and. — The  nation  passed  condemnation 
m  the  political  principles  of  the  federalists, 
Dy  refusing  to  continue  Mr.   Adams  in  the 
Dresidency.    On  the  day  on  which  we  learned 
n  Philadelphia  the  vote  of  the  citv  of  New 
^ork,  which  it  was  well  known  would  decide 
:he  vote  of  the  State,  and  that,  again,  the  vote 
of  the  Union,  I  called  on  Mr.  Adams  on  some 
official    business.     He    was    very    seriously 
affected,  and  accosted  me  with  these  words : 
'  Well,  I  understand  that  you  are  to  beat  me 
n  this  contest,   and  I  will  only  say  that  I 
will  be  as  faithful  a  subject  as  any  you  will 
lave."    "  Mr.   Adams,"   said  I,   "  this   is  no 
personal  contest  between  you  and  me.     Two 
systems  of  principles  on  the  subject  of  govern 
ment   divide   our   citizens   into   two   parties. 
With  one  of  these  you  concur,  and  I  with 
the  other.     As  we  have  been  longer  on  the 
public  stage  than  most  of  those  now  living, 
our    names    happen    to    be    more    generally 
known.    One  of  these  parties,  therefore,  has 
put  your  name  at  its  head,  the  other  mine. 
Were  we  both  to  die  to-day,  to-morrow  two 
other  names  would  be  in  the  place  of  ours, 
without   any   change    in  the   motion   of   the 
machinery.     Its  motion  is  from  its  principle, 
and  not  from  you  or  myself.  "     "  I  believe 
you  are  right,"   said  he,   "  that  we  are  but 
passive   instruments,    and   should   not   suffer 
this   matter   to   affect   our   personal    disposi 
tions."    But  he  did  long  retain  this  just  view 
of  the  subject.  I  have  always  believed  that  the 
thousand  calumnies  which  the  federalists,  in 
bitterness  of  heart,  and  mortfication  at  their 
ejection,  daily  invented  against  me,  were  car 
ried   to   him   by   their  busy   intriguers,    and 
made  some  impression. — To  DR.   BENJAMIN 
RUSH,    v,  560.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  296.     (M.,  Jan. 
1811.) 

78. .     When  the  election  between 

Burr  and  myself  was  kept  in  suspense  by  the 
federalists,  and  they  were  meditating  to  place 
the  President  of  the  Senate  at  the  head  of  the 
government,  I  called  on  Mr.  Adams  with  a 
view  to  have  this  desperate  measure  prevented 
by  his  negative.  He  grew  warm  in  an  in 
stant,  and  said  with  a  vehemence  he  had  not 
used  towards  me  before :  "  Sir,  the  event  of 
the  election  is  within  your  own  $  power.  You 
have  only  to  say  you  will  do  justice  to  the 
public  creditors,  maintain  the  navy,  and  not 
disturb  those  holding  offices,  and  the  gov 
ernment  will  instantly  be  put  into  your  hands. 
We  know  it  is  the  wish  of  the  people  it  should 
be  so."  "  Mr.  Adams,"  said  I,  "  I  know  not 
what  part  of  my  conduct,  in  either  public  or 
private  life,  can  have  authorized  a  doubt  of 
my  fidelity  to  the  public  engagements.  I  say. 
however,  I  will  not  come  into  the  government 
by  capitulation.  I  will  not  enter  on  it,  but  in 


Adams  (JoUii) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


10 


perfect  freedom  to  follow  the  dictates  of  my 
own  judgment."  I  had  before  given  the  same 
answer  to  the  same  intimation  from  Gouver- 
neur  Morris.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  things 
must  take  their  course."  I  turned  the  con 
versation  to  something  else,  and  soon  took 
my  leave.  It  was  the  first  time  in  our  lives 
we  had  ever  parted  with  anything  like  dis 
satisfaction. — To  DR.  BENJAMIN  RUSH,  v, 
561.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  297.  (M.,  Jan.  1811.) 

79.  ADAMS     (John),  Jefferson,    Paine 

and. — I  am  afraid  the  indiscretion  of  a  printer 
has  committed  me  with  my  friend  Mr.  Adams, 
for  whom,  as  one  of  the  most  honest  and  dis 
interested  men  alive,  I  have  a  cordial  esteem, 
increased  by  long  habits  of  concurrence  in 
opinion  in  the  days  of  his  republicanism  :  and 
even  since  his  apostasy  to  hereditary  monarchy 
and  nobility,  though  we  differ,  we  differ  as 
friends  should  do.  Beckley  had  the  only  copy 
of  Paine's  pamphlet  [Rights  of  Man],  and  lent 
it  to  me,  desiring  when  I  should  read  it,  that 
I  would  send  it  to  a  Mr.  J.  B.  Smith,  who  had 
asked  it  for  his  brother  to  reprint  it.  Being 
an  utter  stranger  to  J.  B.  Smith,  both  by 
sight  and  character,  I  wrote  a  note  to  explain 
to  him  why  I  (a  stranger  to  him)  sent  him 
a  pamphlet,  to  wit,  that  Mr.  Beckley  had  de 
sired  it ;  and  to  take  off  a  little  of  the  dryness 
of  the  note,  I  added  that  I  was  glad  to  find  it 
was  to  be  reprinted,  that  something  would, 
at  length,  be  publicly  said  against  the  political 
heresies  which  had  lately  sprung  up  among 
us,  and  that  I  did  not  doubt  our  citizens  would 
rally  again  round  the  standard  of  "  Common 
Sense. "  That  I  had  in  my  view  the  "  Dis 
courses  on  Davila,  "  which  have  filled  Fenno's 
papers  for  a  twelvemonth,  without  contra 
diction,  is  certain,  but  nothing  was  ever 
further  from  my  thoughts  than  to  become  my 
self  the  contradictor  before  the  public.  To  my 
great  astonishment,  however,  when  the  pamphlet 
came  out,  the  printer  had  prefixed  my  note 
to  it,  without  having  given  me  the  most  dis 
tant  hint  of  it.  Mr.  Adams  will  unquestionably 
take  to  himself  the  charge  of  political  heresy, 
as  conscious  of  his  own  views  of  drawing  the 
present  government  to  the  form  of  the  English 
constitution,  and,  I  fear,  will  consider  me  as 
meaning  to  injure  him  in  the  public  eye.  I 
learn  that  some  Anglo-men  have  censured  it 
in  another  point  of  view,  as  a  sanction  of 
Paine's  principles  tends  to  give  offence  to  the 
British  government.  Their  real  fear,  however, 
is  that  this  popular  and  republican  pamphlet, 
taking  wonderfully,  is  likely  at  a  single  stroke, 
to  wipe  out  all  the  unconstitutional  doctrines 
which  their  bell-weather,  "  Davila,  "  has  been 
preaching  for  a  twelvemonth.  I  certainly  never 
made  a  secret  of  my  being  anti-monarchical, 
and  anti-aristocratical ;  but  I  am  sincerely  morti 
fied  to  be  thus  brought  forward  on  the  public 
stage,  where  to  remain,  to  advance  or  to  re 
tire,  will  be  equally  against  my  love  of  silence 
and  quiet,  and  my  abhorrence  of  dispute. — To 
PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON,  iii,  257.  FORD  ED., 
v,  329.  (Pa.,  1791-) 

80. .     I  have  a  dozen  times  taken 

up  my  pen  to  write  to  you,  and  as  often  laid 
it  down  again,  suspended  between  opposing 
considerations.  I  determine,  however,  to  write 
from  a  conviction  that  truth,  between  candid 
minds,  can  never  do  harm.  The  first  of  Paine's 
pamphlets  on  the  "  Rights  of  Man,  "  which 
come  to  hand  here,  belonged  to  Mr.  Beckley. 
He  lent  it  to  Mr.  Madison,  who  lent  it  to 
me ;  and  while  I  was  reading  it.  Mr.  Beckley 
called  on  me  for  it,  and,  as  I  had  not  finished  it. 


he  desired  me,  as  soon  as  I  should  have  done  so 
to  send  it  to  Mr.  Jonathan  B.  Smith,  whose 
brother  meant  to  reprint  it.  I  finished  reading 
it,  and,  as  I  had  no  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Jonathan  B.  Smith,  propriety  required  that 
L  should  explain  to  him  why  I,  a  stran 
ger  to  him,  sent  him  the  pamphlet.  I  ac 
cordingly  wrote  a  note  of  compliment,  in 
forming  him  that  I  did  it  at  the  desire  of 
Mr.  Beckley,  and,  £p  take  off  a  little  of  the 
dryness  of  the  note,  I  added  that  I  was  glad  it 
was  to  be  reprinted  here,  and  that  something 
was  to  be  publicly  said  against  the  political 
heresies  which  had  sprung  up  among  us  &c  I 
thought  so  little  of  this  note,  that  I  did  not 
even  keep  a  copy  of  it;  nor  ever  heard  a  tittle 
more  of  it,  till,  the  week  following,  I  was 
thunderstruck  with  seeing  it  come  out  at  the 
head  of  the  pamphlet.*  I  hoped,  however,  it 
would  not  attract  notice.  But  I  found,  on  my 
return  from  a  journey  of  a  month,  that  a  writer 
came  forward,  under  the  signature  of  "  Pub 
licola,"  attacking  not  only  the  author  and  prin 
ciples  of  the  pamphlet,  but  myself  as  its  spon 
sor,  by  name.  Soon  after  came  hosts  of  other 
writers,  defending  the  pamphlet,  and  attacking 
you,  by  name,  as  the  writer  of  "  Publicola." 
Thus  were  our  names  thrown  on  the  public 
stage  as  public  antagonists.  That  you  and  I  dif 
fer  in  _our  ideas  of  the  best  forms  of  govern 
ment,  is  well  known  to  us  both  ;  but  we  have 
differed  as  friends  should  do,  respecting  the 
purity  of  each  other's  motives,  and  confining  our 
difference  of  opinion  to  private  conversation. 
And  I  can  declare  with  truth,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Almighty,  that  nothing  was  further  from  my 
intention  or  expectation  than  to  have  either 
my  own  or  your  name  brought  before  the  public 
on  this  occasion.  The  friendship  and  con 
fidence  which  have  so  long  existed  between 
us,  required  this  explanation  from  me,  and  I 
know  you  too  well  to  fear  any  misconstruction 
of  the  motives  of  it.  Some  people  here  who 
would  wish  me  to  be,  or  to  be  thought,  guilty 
of  improprieties,  have  suggested  that  I  was 
"  Agricola,"  that  I  was  "  Brutus,"  &c.,  &c.  I 
never  did  in  my  life,  either  by  myself  or  by 
any  other,  have  a  sentence  of  mine  inserted 
in  a  newspaper  without  putting  my  name  to 
it;  and  I  believe  I  never  shall. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  iii,  270.  FORD  ED.,  v,  353.  (Pa., 
1791.) 

81. .     I  was  happy  to  find  that 

you  saw  in  its  true  point  of  view  the  way  in 
which  I  had  been  drawn  into  the  scene,  which 
must  have  been  so  disagreeable  to  you.  The 
importance  which  you  still  seem  to  allow  to 
my  note,  and  the  effect  you  suppose  it  to  have 
had,  though  unintentional  in  me,  induce  me  to 
show  you  that  it  really  had  no  effect.  Paine's 
pamphlet,  with  my  note,  was  published  here  about 
the  second  week  in  May.  Not  a  word  ever 
appeared  in  the  public  papers  here  [Philadel 
phia]  on  the  subject  for  more  than  a  month  ; 
and  I  am  certain  not  a  word  on  the  subject 
would  ever  have  been  said,  had  not  a  writer, 
under  the  name  "  Publicola "  [John  Quincy 
Adams]  at  length  undertaken  to  attack  Mr. 
Paine's  principles,  which  were  the  principles  of 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Instantly  a 
host  of  writers  attacked  "  Publicola  "  in  support 

*  The  note  was  as  follows  :  "After  some  prefatory 
remarks,  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  a 
note  to  a  Printer  in  Philadelphia,  accompanying  a 
copy  of  this  Pamphlet  for  republication  observes : 
'I  am  extremely  pleased  to  find  it  will  be  reprinted 
here,  and  that  something  is  at  length  to  be  publicly 
said  against  the  political  heresies  which  have 
sprung  up  among  vis.  I  have  no  doubt  our  citizens 
will  rally  a  second  time  round  the  standard  of 
Common  Sense.'  "—EDITOR. 


II 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Adams  (John) 


of  those  principles.  He  had  thought  proper  to 
misconstrue  a  figurative  expression  in  my  note ; 
and  these  writers  so  far  noticed  me  as  to  place 
the  expression  in  its  true  light.  But  this  was 
only  an  incidental  skirmish  preliminary  to  the 
general  engagement,  and  they  would  not  have 
thought  me  worth  naming,  had  he  not  thought 
proper  to  have  brought  me  on  the  scene.  His 
antagonists,  very  criminally,  in  my  opinion, 
presumed  you  to  be  "  Publicola,  "  and  on  that 
presumption  hazarded  a  personal  attack  on 
you.  No  person  saw  with  more  uneasiness 
than  I  did,  this  unjustifiable  assault ;  and  the 
more  so,  when  I  saw  it  continued  after  the 
printer  had  declared  you  were  not  the  author. 
But  you  will  perceive  from  all  this,  my  dear 
sir,  that  my  note  contributed  nothing  to  the 
production  of  these  disagreeable  pieces.  As 
long  as  Paine's  pamphlet  stood  on  its  own 
feet  and  on  my  note,  it  was  unnoticed.  As 
soon  as  "Publicola"  attacked  Paine,  swarms 
appeared  in  his  defence.  To  "  Publicola,"  then, 
and  not  in  the  least  degree  to  my  note,  this 
whole  contest  is  to  be  ascribed  and  all  its 
consequences.  You  speak  of  the  execrable 
paragraph  in  the  Connecticut  papers.  This,  it 
is  true,  appeared  before  "  Publicola  "  ;  but  it 
has  no  more  relation  to  Paine's  pamphlet  and 
my  note  than  to  the  Alcoran.  I  am  satisfied 
the  writer  of  it  had  never  seen  either ;  for 
when  I  passed  through  Connecticut  about  the 
middle  of  June,  not  a  copy  had  ever  been 
seen  by  anybody,  either  in  Hartford  or  New 
Haven,  nor  probably  in  that  whole  State :  and 
that  paragraph  was  so  notoriously  the  re 
verse  of  the  disinterestedness  of  character 
which  you  are  known  to  possess  by  everybody 
who  knows  your  name,  that  I  never  heard  a 
person  speak  of  the  paragraph,  but  with  an 
indignation  in  your  behalf,  which  did  you  entire 
justice.  This  paragraph,  then,  certainly  did 
not  flow  from  my  note,  any  more  than  the 
publications  which  "  Publicola  "  produced.  In 
deed  it  was  impossible  that  my  note  should 
occasion  your  name  to  be  brought  into  question  ; 
for  so  far  from  meaning  you,  I  had  not  even  in 
view  any  writing  which  I  might  suppose  to  be 
yours,  and  the  opinions  I  alluded  to  were 
principally  those  I  had  heard  in  common  con 
versation  from  a  sect  aiming  at  the  subversion 
of  the  present  government  to  bring  in  their 
favorite  form  of  a  king,  lords  and  commons. 
Thus  I  hope,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  will  see 
me  to  have  been  as  innocent  in  effect  as  I  was 
in  intention.  I  was  brought  before  the  public 
without  my  own  consent,  and  from  the  first 
moment  of  seeing  the  effort  of  the  real  ag 
gressors,  in  this  business  to  keep  me  before  the 
public,  I  determined  that  nothing  should  in 
duce  me  to  put  pen  to  paper  in  the  controversy. 
The  business  is  now  over,  and  I  hope  its  effects 
are  over,  and  that  our  friendship  will  never 
be  suffered  to  be  committed,  whatever  use 
others  may  think  proper  to  make  of  our  names. 
— To  JOHN  ADAMS,  iii,  291.  FORD  ED.,  v, 
380.  (Pa.,  Aug.  1791-) 

82.  ADAMS  (John), Midnight  Appoint 
ments  of.— One  act  of  Mr.  Adams's  life,  and 
one  only,  ever  gave  me  a  moment's  personal 
displeasure.  I  did  consider  his  last  appoint 
ments  to  office  as  personally  unkind.  They 
were  from  among  my  most  ardent  political 
enemies,  from  whom  no  faithful  cooperation 
could  ever  be  expected ;  and  laid  me  under 
the  embarrassment  of  acting  through  men 
whose  views  were  to  defeat  mine,  or  to  en 
counter  the  odium  of  putting  others  in  their 
places,  It  seemed  but  common  justice  to 


leave  a  successor  free  to  act  by  instruments 
of  his  own  choice.  If  my  respect  for  him 
did  not  permit  me  to  ascribe  the  whole  blame 
to  the  influence  of  others,  it  left  something  for 
friendship  to  forgive,  and  after  brooding  over 
it  for  some  little  time,  and  not  always  resist 
ing  the  expression  of  it,  I  forgave  it  cordially, 
and  returned  to  the  same  state  of  esteem  and 
respect  for  him  which  had  so  long  existed. 
*  *  *  I  maintain  for  him,  and  shall  carry  into 
private  life,  an  uniform  and  high  measure  of 
respect  and  good  will,  and  for  yourself  a  sin 
cere  attachment. — To  MRS.  JOHN  ADAMS,  iv, 
546.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  307.  (W.,  June  1804.) 
See  COMMISSIONS. 

83. .     Those  scenes  of  midnight 

appointment,  *  *  *  have  been  condemned  by 
all  men.  The  last  day  of  his  political  power, 
the  last  hours,  and  even  beyond  the  midnight, 
were  employed  in  filling  all  offices,  and  es 
pecially  permanent  ones,  with  the  bitterest 
federalists,  and  providing  for  me  the  alterna 
tive,  either  to  execute  the  government  by  my 
enemies,  whose  study  it  would  be  to  thwart 
and  defeat  all  my  measures,  or  to  incur  the 
odium  of  such  numerous  removals  from  of 
fice,  as  might  bear  me  down. — To  DR.  BENJA 
MIN  RUSH,  v,  561.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  297.  (M., 
Jan.  1811.) 

—  ADAMS    (John)»  Opinions  on  IT.   S. 
Senate.— See  SENATE. 

84.  ADAMS    (John),  Peace  Commission. 

— I  am  glad  that  he  is  of  the  [Peace]  Com 
mission,  and  expect  he  will  be  useful  in  it.  His 
dislike  of  all  parties  and  all  men,  by  balancing 
his  prejudices,  may  give  them  some  fair  play 
to  his  reason  as  would  a  general  benevolence  of 
temper.  At  any  rate  honesty  may  be  extracted 
even  from  poisonous  weeds. — To  JAMES  MADI 
SON.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  309.  (B.,  Feb.  1783.) 

_  ADAMS    (John),  Political  Addresses 
of. — See  103,  105. 

85.  ADAMS     (John),  Political    Princi 
ples  of. — Mr    Adams  had  originally  been  a 
republican.     The  glare  of  royalty  and  nobil 
ity,  during  his  mission  to  England,  had  made 
him  believe  their  fascination  a  necessary  in 
gredient  in  government ;    and  Shays's  rebel 
lion,  not  sufficiently  understood  where  he  then 
was,    seemed   to   prove   that   the   absence   of 
want   and   oppression,    was   not    a    sufficient 
guarantee  of  order.     His  book  on  the  "  Amer 
ican  Constitutions"  having  made  known  his 
political  bias,  he  was  taken  up  by  monarchical 
Federalists,  in  his  absence,  and  on  his  return 
to  the  United  States,  he  was  by  them  made  to 
believe   that   the   general    disposition   of   our 
citizens  was  favorable  to  monarchy.     He  then 
wrote  his  "  Davila,"  as  a  supplement  to  the 
former  work,  and  his  election  to  the  Presi 
dency  confirmed  him  in  his  errors.    Innumer 
able  addresses,  too,  artfully  and  industriously 
poured  in  upon  him,  deceived  him  into  a  con 
fidence  that  he  was  on  the  pinnacle  of  popu 
larity,  when  a  gulf  was  yawning  at  his  feet, 
which   was  to   swallow   up  him   and   his  de 
ceivers.     For,  when  General  \Vashington  was 
withdrawn,    these    encrgtiincui    of    royalism. 
kept  in  check  hitherto  by  the  dread  of  his 


Adams  (John) 
Adams  (John  Quincy) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


12 


honesty,  his  firmness,  his  patriotism,  and  the 
authority  of  his  name,  now  mounted  on  the 
car  of  state  and  free  from  control,  like 
Phaeton  on  that  of  the  sun,  drove  headlong 
and  wild,  looking  neither  to  right  nor  left, 
nor  regarding  anything  but  the  objects  they 
were  driving  at ;  until,  displaying  these  fully, 
the  eyes  of  the  nation  were  opened,  and  a 
general  disbandment  of  them  from  the  public 
councils  took  place.  Mr.  Adams,  I  am  sure, 
has  been  long  since  convinced  of  the  treach 
eries  with  which  he  was  surrounded  during 
his  administration.  He  has  since  thoroughly 
seen  that  his  constituents  were  devoted  to  re 
publican  government,  and  whether  his  judg 
ment  is  resettled  on  its  ancient  basis,  or  not, 
he  is  conformed  as  a  good  citizen  to  the  will 
of  the  majority,  and  would  now,  I  am  per 
suaded,  maintain  its  republican  structure  with 
the  zeal  and  fidelity  belonging  to  his  charac 
ter.  For  even  an  enemy  has  said,  "  he  is  al 
ways  an  honest  man,  and  often  a  great  one." 
But  in  the  fervor  of  the  fever  and  follies  of 
those  who  made  him  their  stalking  horse,  no 
man  who  did  not  witness  it,  can  form  an  idea 
of  their  unbridled  madness,  and  the  terrorism 
with  which  they  surrounded  themselves. — 
THE  ANAS,  ix,  97.  FORD  ED.,  i,  166.  (1818.) 

86. .  Adams  was  for  two  hered 
itary  [legislative]  branches  and  an  honest 
elective  one. — THE  ANAS,  ix,  96.  FORD  ED., 
i,  166.  (1818.) 

87. .     Can     anyone     read     Mr. 

Adams's  "  Defence  of  the  American  Con 
stitutions,"  without  seeing  that  he  was  a 
monarchist?  And  J.  Q.  Adams,  the  son,  was 
more  explicit  than  the  father  in  his  answer  to 
Paine's  "  Rights  of  Man." — T  o  WILLIAM 
SHORT,  vii,  390.  FORD  ED.,  x,  332.  (M., 
1825.) 

88.  ADAMS      (John),   Proposed    office 
for. — A  little  time  and  reflection  effaced  in 
my    mind    this    temporary    dissatisfaction    [be 
cause  of  the  midnight  appointments,  &c.]   with 
Mr.  Adams,  and  restored  me  to  that  just  esti 
mate    of    his    virtues    and    passions,    which    a 
long  acquaintance  had  enabled  me  to  fix.     And 
my  first  wish   became  that  of  making  his   re 
tirement  easy  by  any  means  in  my  power ;    for 
it  was  understood  he  was  not  rich.     I  suggested 
to  some  republican  members  of  the  delegation 
from  his  State,  the  giving  him,  either  directly 
or    indirectly,    an    office,    the    most    lucrative 
in  that  State,  and  then  offered  to  be  resigned, 
if  they  thought  he  would  not  deem  it  affront- 
ive.     They  were  of  opinion  he  would  take  great 
offence   at  the  offer ;     and  moreover,   that  the 
body    of    republicans    would    consider    such    a 
step   in   the   outset   as   arguing  very   ill   of  the 
course  I  meant  to  pursue.     I  dropped  the  idea, 
therefore,  but  did  not  cease  to  wish  for  some 
opportunity    of    renewing    our    friendly    under 
standing. — To   DR.   BENJAMIN   RUSH,     v.,   562. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,, 298.     (M.,Jan.  1811.) 

—  ADAMS  (John),  Saves  Fisheries. — 
See  FISHERIES. 

89.  ADAMS    (John),  Views  on  English 

Constitution.-— While  Mr.  Adams  wasVice- 
President,  and  I  Secretary  of  State,  I  re 
ceived  a  letter  from  President  Washington, 
then  at  Mount  Vernon,  desiring  me  to  call  to 


gether  the  Heads  of  Departments,  and  to  in 
vite  Mr.  Adams  to  join  us  (which,  by-the-bye, 
was  the  only  instance  of  that  being  done)  in 
order  to  determine  on  some  measure  which 
required  despatch;  and  he  desired  me  to  act 
on  it,  as  decided,  without  again  recurring  to 
him.  I  invited  them  to  dine  with  me,  and 
after  dinner,  sitting  at  our  wine,  having  set 
tled  our  question,  other  conversation  came  on, 
in  which  a  collision  of  opinion  arose  between 
Mr.  Adams  and  Colonel  Hamilton,  on  the 
merits  of  the  British  Constitution,  Mr.  Ad 
ams  giving  it  as  his  opinion,  that,  if  some  of 
its  defects  and  abuses  were  corrected,  it 
would  be  the  most  perfect  constitution  of 
government  ever  devised  by  man.  Hamilton, 
on  the  contrary,  asserted,  that  with  its  exist 
ing  vices,  it  was  the  most  perfect  model  of 
government  that  could  be  formed;  and  that 
the  correction  of  its  vices  would  render  it  an 
impracticable  government.  And  this  you  may 
be  assured  was  the  real  line  of  difference  be 
tween  the  political  principles  of  these  two 
gentlemen.  Another  incident  took  place  on 
the  same  occasion,  which  will  further  deline 
ate  Mr.  Hamilton's  political  principles.  The 
room  being  hung  around  with  a  collection  of 
the  portraits  of  remarkable  men,  among  them 
were  those  of  Bacon,  Newton  and  Locke. 
Hamilton  asked  me  who  they  were.  I  told 
him  they  were  my  trinity  of  the  three  great 
est  men  the  world  had  ever  produced,  naming 
them.  He  paused  for  some  time :  "  The 

Greatest  man,"  said  he,  "  that  ever  lived,  was 
ulius  Caesar."  Mr.  Adams  was  honest  as  a 
politician  as  well  as  a  man ;  Hamilton  honest 
as  a  man,  but,  as  a  politician,  believing  in  the 
necessity  of  either  force  or  corruption  to 
govern  men.  To  DR.  BENJAMIN  RUSH,  v, 
559.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  295.  (M.,  Jan.  1811.) 

90.  ADAMS    (John),  Washington  and. 
— General  Washington  certainly  did  not  love 
Mr.    Adams. — To    DR.    BENJAMIN    RUSH,     iv, 
508.     FORD  ED.,  viii,  265.     (W.,   1803.) 

91.  ADAMS      (John),    Writings     of.— I 
have  read  your  book  with   infinite  satisfaction 
and    improvement.     It    will    do    great    good    in 
America.     Its  learning  and  its  good  sense  will. 
I  hope,  make  it  an  institute  for  our  politicians, 
old  as  well   as  young. — To    JOHN    ADAMS,     ii, 
128.     (P.,  1787.) 


92. 

paper 


I    enclose    you    a    Boston 
You  will   recognize   Mr.  A.- 


under  the  signature  of  "  Camillus.  "  He  writes 
in  every  week's  paper  now  and  generally  under 
different  signatures  This  is  the  first  in  which 
he  has  omitted  some  furious  incartade  against 
me. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  iv,  53.  FORD  ED.. 
vi,  402.  (Pa.,  Sept.  1793.) 

—  ADAMS  (Mrs.  John),  Correspond 
ence  with. — See  APPENDIX. 

93.  ADAMS  (John  Quincy),  Early 
Promise. — This  young  gentleman  is  I  think 
very  promising.  To  a  vast  thirst  after  ^useful 
knowledge  he  adds  a  facility  in  acquiring  it. 
What  his  judgment  may  be  I  am  not  well 
enough  acquainted  with  him  to  decide ;  but  I 
expect  it  is  good,  and  much  hope  it,  as  he 
may  become  a  valuable  and  useful  citizen. — To 
JAMES  MONROE.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  42.  (P.,  1785.) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Adams  (John  Quincy) 
Addresses 


94.  ADAMS      (John     Quincy),    Foreign 
Minister. — The  nomination  of  John  Quincy 
Adams  to  Berlin,  had  been  objected  to  as  ex 
tending   our   diplomatic   establishment.     It   was 
approved  by   eighteen   to   fourteen. — To   JAMES 
MADISON,     iv,    179.     FORD   ED.,  vii,    132.     (Pa., 
June  I797-) 

95.  ADAMS      (John     Quincy),   Respect 
for. — I  have  never  entertained  for  Mr.  Adams 
any  but  sentiments  of  esteem  and  respect ;  and 
if  we  have  not  thought  alike  on  political  sub 
jects,   I   yet  never  doubted  the  honesty  of  his 

opinions. — To   .     vii,    432.     (M., 

1826.)    See   EMBARGO. 

96.  ADAMS     (John   Quincy),  Secretary 
of  State. — I  have  barely  left  myself  room  to 
express  my  satisfaction  at  your  call  to  the  im 
portant  office  *  you  hold,  and  to  tender  you  the 
assurance   of   my   great   esteem   and   respect. — 
To    JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS,     vii,    90.     (1817.) 

97. .  I  congratulate  Mrs.  Adams 

and  yourself  on  the  return  of  your  excellent 
and  distinguished  son,  and  our  country  still 
more  on  such  a  minister  of  their  foreign 
affairs. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vii,  83.  FORD  ED. 
(1817.) 

98.  ADAMS  (Samuel),  Ability. —He  was 
truly  a  great  man,  wise  in  council,  fertile  in 
resources,    immovable   in   his   purposes,    and 
had,  I  think,  a  greater  share  than  any  other 
member,  in  advising  and  directing  our  meas 
ures    in    the    northern    war   especially.  *  *  * 
Although  not  of  fluent    elocution,    he    was 
so  rigorously  logical,  so  clear  in  his  views, 
abundant  in  good  sense,  and  master  always 
of  his  subject,  that  he  commanded  the  most 
profound  attention  whenever  he  rose  in  an 
assembly  by  which  the  froth  of  declamation 
was  heard  with  the  most  sovereign  contempt. 
— To   S.   A.   WELLS,    vii,   126.    FORD  ED.,  x, 
131.    (M..  1819.) 

99.  ADAMS      (Samuel),    Patriarch     of 
Liberty. — I   addressed  a  letter  to  you,   my 
very  dear  and  ancient  friend,  on  the  4th  of 
March ;    not    indeed    to    you    by    name,    but 
through  the  medium  of  some  of  my  fellow 
citizens,  whom  occasion  called  on  me  to  ad 
dress.     In  meditating  the  matter  of  that  ad 
dress,  I  often  asked  myself,  is  this  exactly  in 
the  spirit  of  the  patriarch  of  liberty,  Samuel 
Adams?    Is  it  as  he  would  express  it?    Will 
he  approve  of  it?     I  have  felt  a  great  deal 
for  our  country  in  the  times  we  have  seen. 
But,   individually,    for   no   one    so   much   as 
yourself.     When  I  have  been  told  that  you 
were  avoided,  insulted,  frowned  on,  I  could 
not  but  ejaculate,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for 
they  know  what  they  do."     I  confess  I  felt 
an  indignation  for  you,  which  for  myself  I 
have  been  able,  under  every  trial,  to  keep  en 
tirely  passive.  *     *     How  much  I  lament 
that  time  has  deprived  me  of  your  aid.     It 
would  have  been  a  day  of  glory  which  should 
have  called  you  to  the  first  office  of  the  Ad 
ministration.     But  give  us  your  counsel,  and 
give  us  your  blessing,  and  be  assured  that 
there  exists  not  in  the  heart  of  man  a  more 
faithful  esteem  than  mine  to  you. — To  SAM 
UEL  ADAMS,    iv,  389.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  38    (W., 
1801.) 

*  Secretary  of  State.— EDITOR. 


100.  ADAMS    (Samuel),  Principles  of.— 

His  principles,  founded  on  the  immovable  ba 
sis  of  equal  right  and  reason,  have  continued 
pure  and  unchanged.  Permit  me  to  place 
here  my  sincere  veneration  for  him. — To 
JAMES  SULLIVAN,  iv,  169.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
118.  (M.,  1797.) 

101. .     Your  principles  have  been 

tested  in  the  crucible  of  time,  and  have  come 
out  pure.  You  have  proved  that  it  was  mon 
archy,  and  not  merely  British  monarchy,  you 
opposed. — To  SAMUEL  ADAMS,  iv,  321.  FORD 
ED.,  vii,  425.  (Pa.,  1800.) 

102.  ADAMS     (Samuel),  Services   of.— 

I  always  considered  him  as  more  than  any 
other  member  [in  Congress]  the  fountain  of 
our  important  measures.  And  although  he 
was  neither  an  eloquent  nor  easy  speaker, 
whatever  he  said  was  sound,  and  commanded 
the  profound  attention  of  the  House.  In  the 
discussions  on  the  floor  of  Congress  he  re 
posed  himself  on  our  main  pillar  in  debate, 
Mr.  John  Adams.  These  two  gentlemen  were 
verily  a  host  in  our  councils. — To  DR.  BEN 
JAMIN  WATERHOUSE.  FORD  ED.,  x,  124.  (M., 
1819.) 

—  ADDRESS,  History  of  Washington's 
Farewell.— See  WASHINGTON. 

—  ADDRESS,  Jefferson  to  Inhabitants 
of  Albemarle  Co.,Va. — See  APPENDIX. 

103.  ADDRESSES,  Indiscreet  Political. 
— Indiscreet  declarations  and  expressions  of 
passion  may  be  pardoned  to  a  multitude  act 
ing  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment.     But 
we  cannot  expect  a  foreign  nation  to  show 
that  apathy  to  the  answers  of  the  President 
[Adams]  which  are  more  thrasonic  than  the 
addresses.     Whatever  choice  for  peace  might 
have  been  left  us  *  *  *  is  completely  lost  by 
these  answers. — To  JAMES  MADISON,    iv,  238. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  247.     (Pa.,  May  1798.) 

104.  ADDRESSES,    Self  Respect  and.— 

Though  the  expressions  of  good  will  from 
my  fellow  citizens  cannot  but  be  grateful  to 
me,  yet  I  would  rather  relinquish  the  grati 
fication,  and  see  republican  self-respect  pre 
vail  over  movements  of  the  heart  too  capable 
of  misleading  the  person  to  whom  they  are 
addressed.  However,  their  will,  not  mine,  be 
done. — To  SAMUEL  SMITH.  FORD  ED.,  viii, 
28.  (W.,  March  1801.) 

—  ADDRESSES,  Text  of  Jefferson's  In 
augural  Addresses. — See  APPENDIX.  * 

105.  ADDRESSES,  Threatening  Replies 
to. — Nor   is    it   France   alone,   but   his   own 
fellow    citizens,     against     whom     President 
[Adams's]threats   are   uttered.      In   Fennof's 
paper]  *  *  *  you   will    see   one,    wherein   he 
says  to  the  address  from  Newark,  "  the  de 
lusions  and  misrepresentations    which    have 
misled  so  many  citizens,  must  be  discounte 
nanced  by  authority  as  well  as  by  the  citizens 
at  large,"  evidently  alluding  to  those  letters 
from  the  Representatives  to  their  constituents, 
which  they  have  been  so  in  the  habit  of  seek- 

*  The  principles  in  the  Inaugural  Addresses  are 
classified  in  this  work.— EDITOR. 


Addresses 
Adjournment 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


ing  after  and  publishing ;  while  those  sent  by 
the  tory  part  of  the  House  to  their  constit 
uents,  are  ten  times  more  numerous,  and  re 
plete  with  the  most  atrocious  falsehoods  and 
calumnies.  What  new  law  they  will  propose 
on  this  subject  has  not  yet  leaked  out.* — 
To  JAMES  MADISON.  '  iv,  239.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
247.  (Pa.,  May  1798.) 

106.  ADDRESSES,  Utilizing. — Averse  to 
receive  addresses,  yet  unable  to  prevent  them, 
I  have  generally  endeavored  to  turn  them  to 
some  account,  by  making  them  the  occasion, 
of  sowing  useful  truths  and  principles  among 
the  people,  which  might  germinate  and  be 
come  rooted  among  their  political  tenets. — To 
LEVI  LINCOLN,     iv,  427.     FORD  ED.,  viii,  129. 
(1802.) 

107.  ADJOURNMENT,    Congress    and. 

— A  bill  having  passed  both  houses  of  Con 
gress,  and  being  now  before  the  President, 
declaring  that  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  shall  be  transferred  to  the  Potomac  in 
the  year  1790,  that  the  sessions  of  Congress 
next  ensuing  the  present  shall  be  held  in  Phila 
delphia,  to  which  place  the  offices  shall  be 
transferred  before  the  1st  of  December  next, 
a  writer  in  a  public  paper  of  July  13,  has  urged 
on  the  consideration  of  the  President,  that 
the  Constitution  has  given  to  the  two  houses 
of  Congress  the  exclusive  right  to  adjourn 
themselves ;  that  the  will  of  •  the  President 
mixed  with  theirs  in  a  decision  of  this  kind, 
would  be  an  inoperative  ingredient,  repug 
nant  to  the  Constitution,  and  that  he  ought 
not  to  permit  them  to  part,  in  a  single  in 
stance,  with  their  constitutional  rights  ;  conse 
quently,  that  he  ought  to  negative  the  bill. 
That  is  now  to  be  considered. 

Every  man,  and  every  body  of  men  on 
earth,  possesses  the  right  of  self-govern 
ment.  They  receive  it  with  their  being  from 
the  hand  of  nature.  Individuals  exercise  it 
by  their  single  will ;  collections  of  men  by 
that  of  their  majority;  for  the  law  of  the 
majority  is  the  natural  law  of  every  society 
of  men.  When  a  certain  description  of  men 
are  to  transact  together  a  particular  business, 
the  times  and  places  of  their  meeting  and 
separating,  depend  on  their  own  will;  they 
make  a  part  of  the  natural  right  of  self-gov 
ernment.  This,  like  all  other  natural  rights, 
may  be  abridged  or  modified  in  its  exercise 
by  their  own  consent,  or  by  the  law  of  those 
who  depute  them,  if  they  meet  in  the  right  of 
others;  but  as  far  as  it  is  not  abridged  or 
modified,  they  retain  it  as  a  natural  right,  and 
may  exercise  it  in  what  form  they  please, 
either  exclusively  by  themselves,  or  in  asso 
ciation  with  others,  or  by  others  altogether, 
as  they  shall  agree. 

Each  house  of  Congress  possesses  this  nat 
ural  right  of  governing  itself,  and.  conse 
quently,  of  fixing  its  own  times  and  places  of 
meeting,  so  far  as  it  has  not  been  abridged 
by  the  law  of  those  who  employ  them,  that  is 
to  say,  by  the  Constitution.  This  act  mani 
festly  considers  them  as  possessing  this  right 

*  Jefferson  added  a  P.  S.  suggesting  that  Adams 
may  have  been  looking  to  the  sedition  bill  that  had 
been  spoken  of.  —EDITOR 


of  course,  and,  therefore,  has  nowhere  given 
it  to  them.  In  the  several  different  passages 
where  it  touches  this  right,  it  treats  it  as  an 
existing  thing,  not  as  one  called  into  ex 
istence  by  them.  To  evince  this,  every  pass 
age  of  the  Constitution  shall  be  quoted,  where 
the  right  of  adjournment  is  touched;  and  it 
will  be  seen  that  no  one  of  them  pretends  to 
give  that  right;  that,  on  the  contrary,  every 
one  is  evidently  introduced  either  to  enlarge 
the  right  where  it  would  be  too  narrow,  to  re 
strain  it  where,  in  its  natural  and  full  exercise, 
it  might  be  too  large,  and  lead  to  inconven 
ience,  to  defend  it  from  the  latitude  of  its  own 
phrases,  where  these  were  not  meant  to  com 
prehend  it,  or  to  provide  for  its  exercise  by 
others,  when  they  cannot  exercise  it  them 
selves. 

"  A  majority  of  each  house  shall  constitute 
a  quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller  num 
ber  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may 
be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of 
absent  members."  Art.  I.  Sec.  5.  A  majority 
of  every  collection  of  men  being  naturally 
necessary  to  constitute  its'  will,  and  it  being 
frequently  to  happen  that  a  majority  is  not 
assembled,  it  was  necessary  to  enlarge  the 
natural  right  by  giving  to  "  a  smaller  num 
ber  than  a  majority  "  a  right  to  compel  the 
attendance  of  the  absent  members,  and,  in 
the  meantime,  to  adjourn  from  day  to  day. 
This  clause,  then,  does  not  pretend  to  give 
to  a  majority  a  right  which  it  knew  that 
majority  would  have  of  themselves,  but  to  a 
number  less  than  a  majority,  a  right  to  which 
it  knew  that  lesser  number  could  not  have  of 
themselves. 

"  Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Con 
gress,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  other, 
adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any 
other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses 
shall  be  sitting."  Ibid.  Each  house  exercising 
separately  its  natural  right  to  meet  when  and 
where  it  should  think  best,  it  might  happen 
that  the  two  houses  would  separate  either  in 
time  or  place,  which  would  be  inconvenient. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  keep  them  to 
gether  by  restraining  their  natural  right  of 
deciding  on  separate  times  and  places,  and 
by  requiring  a  concurrence  of  will. 

But,  as  it  might  happen  that  obstinacy,  or 
a  difference  of  object,  might  prevent  this  con 
currence,  it  goes  on  to  take  from  them,  in  that 
instance,  the  right  of  adjournment  altogether. 
and  to  transfer  it  to  another,  by  declaring, 
Art.  2.  Sec.  3,  that  "  in  case  of  disagreement 
between  the  two  houses,  with  respect  to  the 
time  of  adjournment,  the  President  may  ad 
journ  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall  think 
proper." 

These  clauses,  then,  do  not  import  a  gift, 
to  the  two  houses,  of  a  general  right  of  ad 
journment,  which  it  was  known  they  would 
have  without  that  gift,  but  to  restrain  or  ab 
rogate  the  right  it  was  known  they  would 
have,  in  an  instance  where,  exercised  in  its 
full  extent,  it  might  lead  to  inconvenience, 
and  to  give  that  right  to  another,  who  would 
not  naturally  have  had  it.  It  also  gives  to 
the  President  a  right,  which  he  otherwise 
would  not  have  had,  "  to  convene  both  houses. 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Adjournment 


or  either  of  them,  on  extraordinary  occa 
sions."  Thus  substituting  the  will  of  another, 
where  they  are  not  in  a  situation  to  exercise 
their  own. 

"  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which 
the  concurrence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on 
a  question  of  adjournment),  shall  be  pre 
sented  to  the  President  for  his  approbation, 
&c.,  Art.  i.  Sec.  7.  The  latitude  of  the  gen 
eral  words  here  used  would  have  subjected 
the  natural  right  of  adjournment  of  the  two 
houses  to  the  will  of  the  President,  which  was 
not  intended.  They,  therefore,  expressly 
"  except  questions  of  adjournment "  out  of 
their  operation.  They  do  not  here  give  a 
right  of  adjournment,  which  it  was  known 
would  exist  without  their  gift,  but  they  de 
fend  the  existing  right  against  the  latitude 
of  their  own  phrases,  in  a  case  where  there 
was  no  good  reason  to  abridge  it.  The  ex 
ception  admits  they  will  have  the  right  of 
adjournment,  without  pointing  out  the  source 
from  which  they  will  derive  it. 

These  are  all  the  passages  of  the  Constitu 
tion  (one  only  excepted,  which  shall  be  pres 
ently  cited,)  where  the  right  of  adjournment 
is  touched ;  and  it  is  evident  that  none  of 
these  are  introduced  to  give  that  right ;  but 
every  one  supposes  it  to  be  existing,  and  pro 
vides  some  specific  modification  for  cases 
where  either  defeat  in  the  natural  right,  or  a 
too  full  use  of  it,  would  occasion  inconven 
ience. 

The  right  of  adjournment,  then,  is  not 
given  by  the  Constitution,  and  consequently 
it  may  be  modified  by  law  without  interfer 
ing  with  that  instrument.  It  is  a  natural 
right,  and,  like  all  other  natural  rights,  may 
be  abridged  or  regulated  in  its  exercise  by 
law  and  the  concurrence  of  the  third  branch 
in  any  law  regulating  its  exercise  is  so  ef 
ficient  an  ingredient  in  that  law,  that  the 
right  cannot  be  otherwise  exercised  but  after 
a  repeal  by  a  new  law.  The  express  terms  of 
the  Constitution  itself  show  that  this  right 
may  be  modified  by  law,  when,  in  Art.  i. 
Sec.  4.  (the  only  remaining  passage  on  the 
subject  not  yet  quoted)  it  says,  "  The  Con 
gress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
year,  and  such  meeting  shall  be  the  first  Mon 
day  in  December,  unless  they  shall,  by  law, 
appoint  a  different  day."  Then  another  day 
may  be  appointed  by  law;  and  the  President's 
assent  is  an  efficient  ingredient  in  that  law. 
Nay,  further,  they  cannot  adjourn  over  the 
first  Monday  of  December  but  by  a  law.  This 
is  another  constitutional  abridgment  of  their 
natural  right  of  adjournment;  and  complet 
ing  our  review  of  all  the  clauses  in  the  Con 
stitution  which  touch  that  right,  authorizes 
us  to  say  no  part  of  that  instrument  gives  it ; 
and  that  the  houses  hold  it.  not  from  the  Con 
stitution,  but  from  nature. 

A  consequence  of  this  is,  that  the  houses 
may,  by  a  joint  resolution,  remove  themselves 
from  place  to  place,  because  it  is  a  part  of 
their  right  of  self-government ;  but  that  as 
the  right  of  self-government  does  not  com 
prehend  the  government  of  others,  the  two 
houses  cannot,  by  a  joint  resolution  of  their 


majorities  only,  remove  the  Executive  and 
Judiciary  from  place  to  place.  These  branches 
possessing,  also,  the  rights  of  self-government 
from  nature,  cannot  be  controlled  in  the  ex 
ercise  of  them  but  by  a  law,  passed  in  the 
forms  of  the  Constitution  The  clause  of  the 
bill  in  question,  therefore,  was  necessary  to  be 
put  into  the  form  of  a  law,  and  to  be  sub 
mitted  to  the  President,  so  far  as  it  proposes 
to  effect  the  removal  of  the  Executive  and 
Judiciary  to  Philadelphia.  So  far  as  respects 
the  removal  of  the  present  houses  of  legisla 
tion  thither,  it  was  not  necessary  to  be  sub 
mitted  to  the  President ;  but  such  a  submis 
sion  is  not  repugnant  to  the  Constitution. 
On  the  contrary,  if  he  concurs,  it  will  so  far 
fix  the  next  session  of  Congress  at  Philadel 
phia  that  it  cannot  be  changed  but  by  a  reg 
ular  law. 

The  sense  of  Congress  itself  is  always  re 
spectable  authority.  It  has  been  given  very 
remarkably  on  the  present  subject.  The  ad 
dress  to  the  President  in  the  paper  of  the 
I3th,  is  a  complete  digest  of  all  the  arguments 
urged  on  the  floor  of  the  Representatives 
against  the  constitutionality  of  the  bill  now 
before  the  President ;  and  they  were  over 
ruled  by  a  majority  of  that  house,  compre 
hending  the  delegation  of  all  the  States  south 
of  the  Hudson,  except  South  Carolina.  At 
the  last  session  of  Congress,  when  the  bill 
for  remaining  a  certain  term  at  New  York, 
and  then  removing  to  Susquehanna,  or  Ger- 
mantown,  was  objected  to  on  the  same 
ground,  the  objection  was  overruled  by  a  ma 
jority  comprehending  the  delegations  of  the 
northern  half  of  the  Union  with  that  of 
South  Carolina.  So  that  the  sense  of  every 
State  in  the  Union  has  been  expressed,  by 
its  delegation,  against  this  objection,  South 
Carolina  excepted,  and  excepting  also  Rhode 
Island,  which  has  never  yet  had  a  delegation 
in  place  to  vote  on  the  question.  In  both 
these  instances,  the  Senate  concurred  with  the 
majority  of  the  Representatives.  The  sense 
of  the  two  houses  is  stronger  authority  in  this 
case,  as  it  is  given  against  their  own  supposed 
privilege. 

It  would  be  as  tedious,  as  it  is  unnecessary, 
to  take  up  and  discuss  one  by  one,  the  ob 
jects  proposed  in  the  paper  of  July  13.  Every 
one  of  them  is  founded  on  the  supposition 
that  the  two  houses  hold  their  right  of  ad 
journment  from  the  Constitution.  This  er 
ror  being  corrected,  the  objections  founded 
on  it  fall  of  themselves. 

It  would  also  be  work  of  mere  supereroga 
tion  to  show  that,  granting  what  this  writer 
takes  for  granted,  (that  the  President's  as 
sent  would  be  an  inoperative  ingredient,  be 
cause  excluded  by  the  Constitution,  as  ^  he 
says.)  yet  the  particular  views  of  the  writer 
would  be  frustrated,  for  on  every  hypothesis 
of  what  the  President  may  do.  Congress  must 
go  to  Philadelphia,  i.  If  he  assents  to  the 
bill,  that  assent  makes  good  law  of  the  part 
relative  to  the  Potomac ;  and  the  part  for 
holding  the  next  session  at  Philadelphia  is 
good,  either  as  an  ordinance,  or  a  vote  of  the 
two  houses,  containing  a  complete  declaration 
of  their  will  in  a  case  where  it  is  competent  to 


Ad j  ournment 

Administration 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


16 


the  object;  so  that  they  must  go  to  Philadel 
phia  in  that  case.  2.  If  he  dissents  from  the 
bill,  it  annuls  the  part  relative  to  the  Poto 
mac;  but  as  to  the  clause  for  adjourning  to 
Philadelphia,  his  dissent  being  as  inneficient 
as  his  assent,  it  remains  a  good  ordinance,  or 
vote,  of  the  two  houses  for  going  thither, 
and  consequently  they  must  go  in  this  case 
also.  3.  If  the  President  withholds  his  will 
out  of  the  bill  altogether,  by  a  ten  day's  si 
lence,  then  the  part  relative  to  the  Potomac 
becomes  a  good  law  without  his  will,  and  that 
relative  to  Philadelphia  is  good  also,  either 
as  a  law,  or  an  ordinance,  or  a  vote  of  the 
two  houses ;  and  consequently  in  this  case 
also  they  go  to  Philadelphia. — OPINION  ON 
RESIDENCE  BILL,  vii,  495.  FORD  ED.,  v,  205. 
(July  1790.) 

108.  ADJOURNMENT,  Executives  and. 
— The   Administrator   shall   not   possess   the 
prerogative  *  *  *  of    dissolving,    proroguing, 
or  adjourning  either  House  of  Assembly. — 
PROPOSED  VA.    CONSTITUTION.     FORD  ED.,   ii, 
18.     (June  1776.) 

109.  ADMINISTRATION,    Acceptable. 
— The  House  of  Representatives  having  con 
cluded  their  choice  of  a  person  for  the  chair 
of  the  United  States,  and  willed  me  that  of 
fice,  it  now  becomes  necessary  to  provide  an 
administration    composed    of   persons    whost 
qualifications    and  '  standing    have    possessed 
them    of   the   public   confidence,    and   whose 
wisdom  may  ensure  to  our  fellow  citizens  the 
advantage  they  sanguinely  expect. — To  HENRY 
DEARBORN,    iv,  356.    FORD  ED.,  vii,  495.  (W., 
Feb.  1801.)    See  CABINET. 

—  ADMINISTRATION,  John  Adams's. 
—See  57,  58,    142. 

110.  ADMINISTRATION,  Antagonism 
to. — I  have  received  many  letters  stating  to 
me  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  caricatures  which 
the  writers,  it  seems,  know  are  to  be  the  prin 
ciples  of  my  administration.    To  these  no  an 
swer  has  been  given,  because  the  prejudiced 
spirit  in  which  they  have  been  written  proved 
the  writers  not  in  a  state  of  mind  to  yield 
to  truth  or  reason.— To  WILLIAM  JACKSON. 
iv,  357-     (W.,  1801.) 

111.  ADMINISTRATION,      Arduous.— 
The  helm  of  a   free  government  is   always 
arduous,  and  never  was  ours  more  so,  than 
at  a  moment  when  two  friendly  peoples  are 
likely  to  be  committed  in  war  by  the  ill  tem 
per  of  their  administrations. — To  JAMES  SUL 
LIVAN,     iv,   168.     FORD  ED.,   vii,    117.      (M., 
Feb.  1797.) 

112.  ADMINISTRATION,      Confidence 
in. — In  a  government  like  ours  it  is  necessary 
to  embrace  in  its  administration  as  great  a 
mass  of  confidence  as  possible,  by  employing 
those  who  have  a  character  with  the  public, 
of  their  own,  and  not  merely  a  secondary  one 
through    the    Executive.  * — ANAS,      ix,    208. 
FORD  ED.,  i,  312.     (April,  1806.) 

113. .     On  the  whole,  I  hope  we 

shall  make  up  an  administration  which  will 
*  Answer  to  Aaron  Burr's  solicitations  for  an  office. 

—EDITOR. 


unite  a  great  mass  of  confidence,  and  bid  de 
fiance  to  the  plans  of  opposition  meditated 
by  leaders  who  are  now  almost  destitute  of 
followers. — To  HORATIO  GATES.  FORD  ED., 
viii,  ii.  (W.,  March  1801.) 

114.  ADMINISTRATION,  Confident.— 
The  important  subjects  of  the  government  I 
meet  with  some  degree  of  courage  and  con 
fidence,  because  I  do  believe  the  talents  to  be 
associated  with  me,  the  honest  line  of  conduct 
we   will    religiously    pursue    at    home    and 
abroad,  and  the  confidence  of  my  fellow  citi 
zens  dawning  on  us,  will  be  equal  to  these 
objects.— To  WILLIAM    B.    GILES,      iv,    380. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  25.     (W.,  March  1801.) 

115.  ADMINISTRATION,  Devoted.— If 

ever  the  earth  has  beheld  a  system  of  admin 
istration  conducted  with  a  single  and  stead 
fast  eye  to  the  general  interest  and  happiness 
of  those  committed  to  it,  one  which,  pro 
tected  by  truth,  can  never  know  reproach,  it 
is  that  to  which  our  lives  have  been  devoted. 
—To  JAMES  MADISON,  vii,  435.  FORD  ED., 
x,  378.  (M.,  1826.) 

116.  ADMINISTRATION,     Difficult.— 

Our  situation  is  difficult ;  and  whatever  we  do 
is  liable  to  the  criticism  of  those  who  wish 
to  represent  it  awry.  If  we  recommend 
measures  in  a  public  message,  it  may  be  said 
that  members  are  not  sent  here  to  obey  the 
mandates  of  the  President,  or  to  register  the 
edicts  of  a  sovereign.  If  we  express  opinions 
in  conversation,  we  have  then  our  Charles 
Jenkinsons,  and  back-door  counsellors.  If 
we  say  nothing,  "  we  have  no  opinions,  no 
plans,  no  cabinet."  In  truth,  it  is  the  fable 
of  the  old  man,  his  son  and  ass,  over  again. — 
To  WILLIAM  DUANE.  iv,  592.  FORD  ED.,  viii, 
433-  (W.,  1806.) 

117.  ADMINISTRATION,  Disapproved. 
— There  was  but  a  single  act  of  my  whole 
administration  of  which  the  federal  party  ap 
proved.     That  was  the  proclamation  on  the 
attack  of  the  Chesapeake.    And  when  I  found 
they  approved  of  it,  I  confess  I  began  strongly 
to  apprehend  I  had  done  wrong,  and  to  ex 
claim  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Lord,  what  have  I 
done   that  the   wicked   should  praise   me." — 
To  ELBRIDGE  GERRY,     vi,  63.     FORD  ED.,  ix, 
359.     (M.,  1812.) 

118.  ADMINISTRATION,   Disinterest 
ed. — A  disinterestedness  administration  of  the 
public  trusts  is  essential  to  perfect  tranquillity 
of  mind. — To    SAMUEL    HAWKINS,      v,    392. 
(W.,  1808.) 

119.  ADMINISTRATION,  England  and 
the. — All  the  troubles  and  difficulties  in  the 
government  during  our  time  proceeded  from 
England;  at  least  all  others  were  trifling  in 
comparison    with    them. — To    HENRY    DEAR 
BORN,     v,  455.     (M.,  1809.) 

120.  ADMINISTRATION,  Errors  in.— 
It  is  our  consolation  and  encouragement  that 
we  are  serving  a  just  public,  who  will  be  in 
dulgent  to  any  error  committed  honestly,  and 
relating  merely  to  the  means  of  carrying  into 
effect  what  they  have  manifestly  willed  to  be  a 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Administration 


law. — To  W.  H.  CABELL.     v,  162.     FORD  ED., 
ix,  96.    (M.,  1807.)    See  ERROR. 

121.  ADMINISTRATION,  Foreign  Pol 
icy. — In  the  transaction  of  your  foreign  af 
fairs,   we   have   endeavored   to   cultivate   the 
friendship   of  all   nations,   and  especially  of 
those  with  which  we  have  the  most  important 
relations.     We  have  done  them  justice  on  all 
occasions,   favored    where    favor    was    law 
ful,  and  cherished  mutual  interests  and  inter 
course   on    fair   and   equal    terms.      We   are 
firmly  convinced,  and  we  act  on  that  convic 
tion,  that  with  nations,  as  with  individuals, 
our  interests  soundly  calculated,  will  ever  be 
found    inseparable    from   our   moral    duties; 
and  history  bears  witness  to  the  fact,  that  a 
just  nation  is  taken  on  its  word,  when  re 
course    is   had   to    armaments    and    wars    to 
bridle  others. — SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS. 
viii,  40.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  343.    (1805.) 

122.  ADMINISTRATION,     Formalities 
and. — The  necessity  of  these  abridgments  of 
formalities   in   our   present   distant  situations 
requires  that  I  should  particularly  suggest  to 
you  the  expediency  of  desiring  General  Knox 
to  communicate  to  the  foreign  ministers  him 
self  directly  any  matters  relative  to  the  inter 
positions  of  his  department  through  the  gov 
ernors.     For  him  to  send  these  to  me  from 
Boston  to  this  place  [Monticello]  merely  that 
I  may  send  them  back  to  the  ministers  at 
Philadelphia  or  New  York,  might  be  an  in 
jurious    delay    of    business. — To    PRESIDENT 
WASHINGTON.     FORD  ED.,  vi,  435.     (M.,  Oct. 
I793-)     See  FORMALITIES. 

123.  ADMINISTRATION,    Fundamen 
tal  Principles.— To  cultivate  peace  and  main 
tain   commerce   and   navigation    in   all   their 
lawful  enterprises ;  to  foster  our  fisheries  and 
nurseries  of  navigation  and  for  the  nurture  of 
man,  and  protect  the  manufactures  adapted  to 
our  circumstances;  to  preserve  the  faith  of 
the  nation  by  an  exact  discharge  of  its  debts 
and   contracts,   expending  the  public  money 
with  the  same  care  and  economy  we  would 
practice  with  our  own,   and  impose  on  our 
citizens  no  unnecessary  burden ;  to  keep  in  all 
things  within  the  pale  of  our  constitutional 
powers,  and  cherish  the  Federal  Union  as  the 
only  rock  of  our  safety — these  are  the  land 
marks  by  which  we  are  to  guide  ourselves  in 
all  our  proceedings.     By  continuing  to  make 
these  our  rule  of  action,  we  shall  endear  to 
our  countrymen  the  true  principles  of  their 
Constitution,  and  promote  a  union  of  senti 
ment  and  of  action  equally  auspicious  to  their 
happiness  and  safety. — SECOND  ANNUAL  MES 
SAGE,   viii,  21.   FORDED.,  viii,  186.  (1802.)  See 
INAUGURAL  ADDRESSES,  APPENDIX. 

124.  -          — .   Our  wish  is  *  *  *  that  the 
public  efforts  may  be  directed  honestly  to  the 
public  good,   that  peace  be  cultivated,   civil 
and  religious  liberty  unassailed,  law  and  or 
der  preserved,  equality  of  rights  maintained, 
and  that  state  of  property,  equal  or  unequal, 
which  results  to  every  man  from  his  own  in 
dustry  or  that  of  his  fathers.— SECOND  IN 
AUGURAL  ADDRESS,     viii,  44.     FORD  ED.,  viii, 
347-     (1805.) 


125. .  That  all  should  be  satis 
fied  with  any  one  order  of  things  is  not  to  be 
expected,  but  I  indulge  the  pleasing  persua 
sion  that  the  great  body  of  our  citizens  will 
concur  in  honest  and  disinterested  efforts, 
which  have  for  their  object  to  preserve  the 
General  and  State  governments  in  their  con 
stitutional  form  and  equilibrium ;  to  maintain 
peace  abroad  and  order  and  obedience  to  the 
laws  at  home ;  to  establish  principles  and  prac 
tices  of  administration  favorable  to  the  se 
curity  of  liberty  and  prosperity,  and  to  re 
duce  expenses  to  what  is  necessary  for  the 
useful  purposes  of  government. — FIRST  AN 
NUAL  MESSAGE,  viii,  15.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  125. 
(Dec.  1801.) 

126. .     Believing  that  (excepting 

the  ardent  monarchists)  all  our  citizens 
agreed  in  ancient  whig  principles,  I  thought 
it  advisable  to  define  and  declare  them,  and 
let  them  see  the  ground  on  which  we  could 
rally.  And  the  fact  proving  to  be  so,  that 
they  agree  in  these  principles,  I  shall  pursue 
them  with  more  encouragement. — To  GEN 
ERAL  HENRY  KNOX.  iv,  386.  FORD  ED.,  viii, 
36.  (W.,  March  1801.) 

127.  ADMINISTRATION,  Good  Repub 
lican. — A  good  administration  in  a  republi 
can  government,   securing  to  us  our  dearest 
rights,  and  the  practical  enjoyment  of  all  our 
liberties,  can  never  fail  to  give  consolation  to 
the  friends  of  free  government,  and  mortifica 
tion  to  its  enemies. — R.  TO  A.  RHODE  ISLAND 
REPUBLICANS,     viii,  162.     (1809.) 

128.  ADMINISTRATION,       Harmoni 
ous. — That  there  is  only  one  minister  who  is 
not  opposed    to    me,    is    totally    unfounded. 
There  never  was  a  more  harmonious,  a  more 
cordial    administration,    nor  ever  a  moment 
when  it  has  been  otherwise.     And  while  dif 
ferences   of  opinion   have  been   always   rare 
among  us,   I  can  affirm,  that  as  to  present 
matters,  there  was  not  a  single  paragraph  in 
my  message  to  Congress,  or  those  supplement 
ary  to  it,  in  which  there  was  not  a  unanimity 
of  concurrence  in  the  members  of  the  admin 
istration. — To    WILLIAM    DUANE.      iv,    591. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  432.     (W.,  March  1806.) 

129.  ADMINISTRATION,       Hesitancy 
and. — On    every    question    the    lawyers    are 
about  equally  divided,  and  were  we  to  act  but 
in  cases  where  no  contrary  opinion  of  a  law 
yer  can  be  had,   we   should   never  act. — To 
ALBERT  GALLATIN.     v,  369.     (M.,  1898.) 

130.  ADMINISTRATION,        Honest.— 

The  measures  of  my  administration  *  *  * 
have  been  pursued  with  honest  intentions,  un 
biased  by  any  personal  or  interested  views. — 
R.  TO  A.  WILMINGTON  CITIZENS,  viii,  149. 
(1809.) 

131.  ADMINISTRATION,  Indebted.— I 
do  not  mean,  fellow  citizens,  to  arrogate  to 
myself  the  merit  of  the  measures  [of  the  ad 
ministration]  ;  that  is  due,  in  the  first  place,  to 
the    reflecting   character   of   our    citizens    at 
large,  who,  by  the  weight  of  public  opinion, 
influence  and  strengthen  the  public  measures ; 
it  is  due  to  the  sound  discretion  with  which 


Administration 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


18 


they  select  from  among  themselves  those  to 
whom  they  confide  the  legislative  duties;  it 
is  due  to  the  zeal  and  wisdom  of  the  char 
acters  selected,  who  lay  the  foundations  of 
public  happine  s  in  wholesome  laws,  the  ex 
ecution  of  which  alone  remains  for  others ; 
and  it  is  due  to  tl.e  able  and  faithful  auxil 
iaries,  whose  patriotism  has  associated  with 
me  in  the  executive  functions. — SECOND  IN 
AUGURAL  ADDRESS,  viii,  43.  FORD  ED.,  viii, 
345.  (1805.) 

132.  ADMINISTRATION,  Indulgence 
to.-— There  are  no  mysteries  in  the  public  ad 
ministration.  Difficulties  indeed  sometimes 
arise;  but  common  sense  and  honest  inten 
tions  will  generally  steer  through  them,  and, 
where  they  cannot  be  surmounted,  I  have  ever 
seen  the  well-intentioned  part  of  our  fellow 
citizens  sufficiently  disposed  not  to  look  for 
impossibilities.—  To  DR.  J.  B.  STUART,  vii, 
64.  (M.,  1817.) 

133. .     A    consciousness    that    I 

feel  no  desire  but  to  do  what  is  best,  without 
passion  or  predilection,  encourages  me  to 
hope  for  an  indulgent  construction  of  what  I 
do.— To  JOHN  PAGE,  iv,  377.  (W.,  1801.) 

—  ADMINISTRATION,  Madison's.— 
See  MADISON. 

134.  ADMINISTRATION,  Meritorious. 

—I  wish  support^from  no  quarter  longer  than 
my  object,  candidly  scanned  shall  merit  it; 
and  especially,  not  longer  than  I  shall  vig 
orously  adhere  to  the  Constitution. — To  BEN 
JAMIN  STODDERT.  iv,  360.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  400. 
(W.,  Feb.  1801.) 

135.  ADMINISTRATION,    Moderate.— 
I  am  very  much  in  hopes  we  shall  be  able  to 
restore  union  to  our  country.     Not,   indeed, 
that  the  federal  leaders  can  be  brought  over. 
They  are  invincibles;  but  I  really  hope  their 
followers  may.     The  bulk  of  these  last  were 
real    republicans,    carried    over  from  us  by 
French  excesses.     This  induced  me  to  offer 
a  political  creed  [in  the  inauguration  address], 
and  to  invite  to  conciliation  first;  and  I  am 
pleased  to  hear,  that  these  principles  are  rec 
ognized  by  them,  and  considered  as  no  bar 
of  separation.    A  moderate  conduct  through 
out  which  may  not  revolt  our  new  friends, 
and   which   may   give   them   tenets   with   us, 
must  be  observed.— To  JOHN  PAGE,    iv,  378. 
(W.,  March  1801.) 

136.  ADMINISTRATION,  Public  Opin 
ion  and. — It  will  always  be  interesting  to  me 
to  know  the  impression  made  by  any  particu 
lar  thing  on   the  public  mind.     My  idea   is 
that  where  two  measures  are  equally  right,  it 
is  a  duty  to  the  people  to    adopt    that    one 
which  is  most  agreeable  to  them;  and  where 
a  measure  not   agreeable  to  them  has  been 
adopted,  it  is  desirable  to  know  it,  because  it 
is  an  admonition  to  a  review  of  that  measure 
to  see  if  it  has  been  really  right,  and  to  cor 
rect  it  if  mistaken. — To  WILLIAM   FINDLEY. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  27.     (W.,  March  1801.) 

137.  ADMINISTRATION,    Reasonable. 
— Unequivocal    in    principle,    reasonable    in 


manner,  we  shall  be  able,  1  hope,  to  do  a  great 
deal  of  good  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  har 
mony. — To  ELBRIDGE  GERRY,  iv,  392.  FORD 
ED.,  viii,  43.  (W.,  March  1801.) 

138.  ADMINISTRATION,  Responsibil 
ity   and.— We   can   only   be   answerable   for 
the  orders  we  give  and  not  for  the  execution. 
If  they  are  disobeyed  from  obstinacy  of  spirit, 
or  want  of  coercion  in  the  laws,  it  is  not  our 
fault. — To  GENERAL  STEUBEN.     FORD  ED     ii 
492.     (R.,  1781.) 

139.  ADMINISTRATION,      Routine.— 

The  ordinary  affairs  of  a  nation  offer  little 
difficulty  to  a  person  of  any  experience. — To 
JAMES  SULLIVAN,  v,  252.  (W.,  1808.) 

140.  ADMINISTRATION,    Salutary.— 

I  am  sure  the  measures  I  mean  to  pursue 
are  such  as  would  in  their  nature  be  approved 
by  every  American  who  can  emerge  from  pre 
conceived  prejudices;  as  for  those  who  can 
not,  we  must  take  care  of  them  as  of  the  sick 
in  our  hospitals.  The  medicine  of  time  and 
fact  may  cure  some  of  them. — To  THEODORE 
FOSTER.  FORD  ED.,  viii.  50.  (W.,  May  1801.) 

141.  ADMINISTRATION,  Secrecy  in.— 

The  same  secrecy  and  mystery  are  affected  to 
be  observed  by  the  present,  which  marked  the 
former  administration. — To  AARON  BURR. 
iv,  185.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  147.  (Pa.,  June  1797.) 

142.  ADMINISTRATION,    Slip-shod.— 

The  administration  [of  Mr.  Adams]  had  no 
rule  for  anything. — To  WILLIAM  SHORT,  iv, 
413.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  96.  (W.,  1801.) 

143.  ADMINISTRATION,      Successors 
in- — I  have  thought  it  right  to  take  no  part 
myself  in  proposing  measures,  the  execution 
of  which  will  devolve  on  my  successor. — To 
DR.  LOGAN,     v,  404.     (W.,  Dec.  1808.)   . 

144. .     I  should  not  feel  justified 

in  directing  measures  which  those  who  are  to 
execute  them    would    disapprove. — To    LEVI 
LINCOLN,     v,   387.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  227.    (W., 
Nov.  1808.) 

145. .     I   am   now   so   near   the 

moment  of  retiring,  that  I  take  no  part  in  af 
fairs  beyond  the  expression  of  an  opinion.  I 
think  it  fair  that  my  successor  should  now 
originate  those  measures  of  which  he  will  be 
charged  with  the  execution  and  responsibility, 
and  that  it  is  my  duty  to  clothe  them  with  the 
forms  of  authority. — To  JAMES  MONROE,  v, 
420.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  243.  (W.,  Jan.  1809.) 

146. .     I  hope  that  my  successor 

will  enter  on  a  calmer  sea  than  I  did.  He 
will  at  least  find  the  vessel  of  State  in  the 
hands  of  his  friends,  and  not  of  his  foes. — To 
RICHARD  M.  JOHNSON,  v,  257.  (W.,  1808.) 

147.  ADMINISTRATION,  Summary  of 
Jefferson's  first. — To  do  without  a  land 
tax,  excise,  stamp  tax  and  the  other  internal 
taxes,  to  supply  their  place  by  economies, 
so  as  still  to  support  the  government  prop 
erly,  and  to  apply  $7,300,000  a  year  steadily 
to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt;  to  dis 
continue  a  great  portion  of  the  expenses  on 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Administration 
Admiralty  Courts 


armies  and  navies,  yet  protect  our  country 
and  its  commerce  with  what  remains;  to 
purchase  a  country  as  large  and  more  fertile 
than  the  one  we  possessed  before,  yet  ask 
neither  a  new  tax,  nor  another  soldier  to  be 
added,  but  to  provide  that  that  country  shall 
by  its  own  income,  pay  for  itself  before  the 
purchase  money  is  due;  to  preserve  peace 
with  all  nations,  and  particularly  an  equal 
friendship  to  the  two  great  rival  powers, 
France  and  England,  and  to  maintain  the 
credit  and  character  of  the  nation  in  as  high 
a  degree  as  it  has  ever  enjoyed,  are  measures 
which  I  think  must  reconcile  the  great  body 
of  those  who  thought  themselves  our  ene 
mies;  but  were  in  truth  only  the  enemies 
of  certain  Jacobinical,  atheistical,  anarchical, 
imaginary  caricatures,  which  existed  only  in 
the  land  of  the  raw  head  and  bloody  bones, 
beings  created  to  frighten  the  credulous.  By 
this  time  they  see  enough  of  us  to  judge  our 
characters  by  what  we  do,  and  not  by  what 
we  never  did,  nor  thought  of  doing,  but  in 
the  lying  chronicles  of  the  newspapers. — To 
TIMOTHY  BLOODWORTH.  iv,  523.  (W.,  Jan. 
1804.) 

148.  ADMINISTRATION,       Temporiz 
ing.— Mild  laws,  a  people  not  used  to  prompt 
obedience,  a  want  of  provisions  of  war,  and 
means  of  procuring  them  render  our  orders 
often  ineffectual,  oblige  us  to  temporize,  and 
when  we  cannot  accomplish  an  object  in  one 
way  to  attempt  it  in  another.     Your  knowl 
edge  of  these  circumstances,  with  a  temper 
to  accommodate  them,    ensure    me    your    co 
operation  in  the  best  way  we  can,  when  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  pursue  the  way  we  would 
wish. — To    MAJOR   GENERAL    DE    LAFAYETTE. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  493.     (R.,  March  1781.) 

149.  ADMINISTRATION,     Tranquil.— 
The  path  we  have  to  pursue  is  so  quiet  that 
we  have  nothing  scarcely  to  propose  to  our 
Legislature.     A    noiseless    course,    not   med 
dling  with  the  affairs  of  others,  unattractive 
of  notice,   is   a  mark  that   society   is   going 
on   in  happiness. — To  THOMAS   COOPER,    iv, 
453.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  178.     (W.,  Nov.  1802.) 

150.  ADMINISTRATION,  Unmed- 
dling. — The  quiet  track  into  which  we  are 
endeavoring   to   get,    neither   meddling   with 
the  affairs  of  other  nations,  nor  with  those 
of  our  fellow  citizens,  but  letting  them  go 
on  in  their  own  way,  will  show  itself  in  the 
statement   of   our   affairs   to    Congress.— To 
DR    JOSEPH   PRIESTLEY.     FORD  ED.,  viii,   180. 
(W.,  Dec.  1802.) 

151.  ADMINISTRATION,     Unsuccess 
ful. — Two  measures  have  not  been  adopted, 
which  I  pressed  on  Congress  repeatedly  at 
their  meetings.     The  one,  to  settle  the  whole 
ungranted  territory  of  Orleans,  by  donations 
of  land  to  able-bodied  young  men,  to  be  en 
gaged  and  carried  there  at  the  public  expense, 
who  would  constitute  a  force  always  ready 
on  the   spot  to   defend   New   Orleans.     The 
other  was  to  class  the  militia  according  to  the 
years  of  their  birth,  and  make  all  those  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  liable  to  be  trained  and 
called    into    service    at    a    moment's    warn- 


ng.  This  would  have  given  us  a  force  of 
;hree  hundred  thousand  young  men,  prepared 
}y  proper  training,  for  service  in  any  part 
of  the  United  States ;  while  those  who  had 
passed  through  that  period  would  remain  at 
lome,  liable  to  be  used  in  their  own  or  ad 
jacent  States.  Those  two  measures  would 
have  completed  what  I  deemed  necessary 
for  the  entire  security  of  our  country.  They 
would  have  given  me,  on  my  retirement  from 
the  government  of  the  nation,  the  consola 
tory  reflection,  that  having  found,  when  I 
was  called  to  it,  not  a  single  seaport  town 
in  a  condition  to  repel  a  levy  of  contribution 
by  a  single  privateer  or  pirate,  I  had  left 
every  harbor  so  prepared  by  works  and  gun 
boats,  as  to  be  in  a  reasonable  state  of  secur 
ity  against  any  probable  attack;  the  territory 
of  Orleans  acquired,  and  planted  with  an 
internal  force  sufficient  for  its  protection ;  and 
the  whole  territory  of  the  United  States  or 
ganized  by  such  a  classification  of  its  male 
force,  as  would  give  it  the  benefit  of  all  its 
young  population  for  active  service,  and  that 
of  a  middle  and  advanced  age  for  stationary 
defence.  But  these  measures  will.  I  hope, 
be  completed  by  my  successor. — To  GENERAL 
KOSCIUSKO.  v,  507.  (M.,  Feb.  1810.) 

—  ADMINISTRATION,  Washington's. 
— See  WASHINGTON. 

152.  ADMINISTRATIONS,  British.— In 

general  the  [British]  administrations  are  so 
changeable,  and  they  are  obliged  to  descend 
to  such  tricks  to  keep  themselves  in  place, 
that  nothing  like  honor  or  morality  can  ever 
be  counted  on  in  transactions  with  them. — 
To  PRESIDENT  MADISON,  v,  465.  (M.,  Aug. 
1809.) 

153.  ADMINISTRATIONS,       Ill-temp 
ered. — We   have   received   a    report   that   the 
French  Directory  has  proposed  a  declaration 
of  war  against  the  United  States  to  the  Coun 
cil  of  Ancients,  who  have  rejected  it.     Thus 
we  see  two  nations,  who  love  one  another 
affectionately,   brought  by  the   ill   temper  of 
their  executive  administrations,   to  the  very 
brink  of  necessity  to  imbrue  their  hands  in 
the  blood  of  each  other. — To  AARON  BURR. 
iv,    187.      FORD   ED.,    vii,     148.      (Pa.,    June 
I/97-) 

154.  ADMIRALTY  COURTS,  Decisions 
of   British. — I    thank  you   for   the   case   of 
Demsey  vs.  the  Insurers,  which  I  have  read 
with  great  pleasure,   and    entire    conviction. 
Indeed  it  is  high  time  to  withdraw  all  respect 
from  courts  acting  under  the  arbitrary  orders 
of  governments  who  avow  a  total  disregard  of 
those  moral   rules  which  have  hitherto  been 
acknowledged  by  nations,   and   have   served 
to  regulate  and  govern  their  intercourse, 
should    respect   just   as    much   the    rules   of 
conduct  which  governed  Cartouche  or  Black- 
beard,  as  those  now  acted  on  by  France  or 
England.     If  your  argument   is  defective  in 
anything,  it  is  in  having  paid  to  the  antecedent 
decisions  of  the  British  Courts  of  Admiralty 
the  respect  of  examining  them  on  grounds  of 
reason;   and  not  having  rested  the  decision 
at  once  on  the  profligacy  of  those  tribunals, 


Admiralty  Courts 
Advice 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


20 


and  openly  declared  against  permitting  their 
sentences  to  be  ever  more  quoted  or  listened 
to  until  those  nations  return  to  the  practice 
of  justice,  to  an  acknowledgment  that  there 
is  a  moral  law  which  ought  to  govern  man 
kind,  and  by  sufficient  evidences  of  contrition 
for  their  present  flagitiousness,  make  it  safe 
to  receive  them,  again  into  the  society  of  civi 
lized  nations.  I  hope  this  will  be  done  on  a 
proper  occasion.  Yet  knowing  that  religion 
does  not  furnish  grosser  bigots  than  law,  I 
expect  little  from  old  judges.  Those  now  at 
the  bar  may  be  bold  enough  to  follow  reason 
rather  than  precedent,  and  may  bring  that 
principle  on  the  bench  when  promoted  to 
it;  but  I  fear  this  effort  is  not  for  my  day. 
It  has  been  said  that  when  Harvey  discovered 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  there  was  not 
a  physician  of  Europe  of  forty  years  of  age, 
who  assented  to  it.  I  fear  you  will  experi 
ence  Harvey's  fate;  but  it  will  become  law 
when  the  present  judges  are  dead. — To 
THOMAS  COOPER,  v,  531.  (M.,  1810.) 

155.  ADMIRALTY  COURTS,  Jurisdic 
tion. — They  [Parliament]  have  extended  the 
jurisdiction   of   courts    of   admiralty   beyond 
their  ancient  limits. — DECLARATION  ON  TAK 
ING  UP  ARMS.    FORD  ED.,  i,  468.    (July  1775.) 

—  ADMISSION    OF    NEW    STATES.— 

See  STATES. 

156.  ADVERTISEMENTS,     Appreciat 
ed. — I  read  but  one  newspaper  and  that  *  *  * 
more  for  its  advertisements  than  its  news. — 
To  CHARLES  PINCKNEY.   vii,  180.  FORD  ED.,  x, 
162.     (M.,   1820.) 

157.  ADVERTISEMENTS,        Principle 
and. — I  think  it  might  be  well  to  advertise  my 
lands  at  Elkhill  for  sale,  and  therefore  enclose 
you  the   form   of  an   advertisement,   in   which, 
you    will    observe,    I    have    omitted    the    name 
of  the  proprietor,  which,   as  long  as  I   am  in 
public,   I   would  wish   to   keep   out  of  view  in 
everything  of  a  private  nature. — To   NICHOLAS 
LEWIS.     FORD  ED.,  v,  281.     (Pa.,  1791.) 

158.  ADVERTISEMENTS,   Truth   and. 

— Advertisements  contain  the  only  truths  to 
be  relied  on  in  a  newspaper. — To  NATHANIEL 
MACON.  vii,  in.  FORD  ED.,  x,  120.  (M., 
1819.) 

159.  ADVICE,  A  Duty.— -Duty  tells  me 
that  the  public  interest  is  so  deeply  concerned 
in  your  perfect  knowledge  of  the  characters 
employed   in   its  high   stations,   that  nothing 
should  be  withheld  which  can  give  you  useful 
information. — To    PRESIDENT    MADISON,     vi 
101.      (M.,  1813.) 

160.  ADVICE,  Friendship  in.— No  apol 
ogies  for  writing  or  speaking  to  me   freely 
are  necessary.     On  the  contrary,  nothing  my 
friends  can  do  is  so  dear  to  me,  and  proves 
to  me  their  friendship  so  clearly,  as  the  in 
formation  they  give  me  of  their  sentiments 
and    those    of    others    on    interesting    points 
where  I  am  to  act,   and  where  information 
and  warning  are  so  essential  to  excite  in  me 
that  due   reflection   which   ought  to   preced 
action.— To  WILSON   C.   NICHOLAS,    iv,   507 
FORD  EDV  viii,  248.    (M.,  1803.) 


161. .  I  always  consider  it  as 

he  most  friendly  service  which  can  be  ren- 
tered  me,  to  be  informed  of  anything  which 
s  going  amiss,  and  which  I  can  remedy. — 

To    WILSON    C.    NICHOLAS,    v,    400.     (W., 

1808.) 

162.  ADVICE,  A  Legacy  of.— Your  af- 
ectionate  mother  requests  that  I  would  ad 
dress  to  you,  as  a  namesake,  something  which 
night   have   a    favorable     influence    on    the 
course  of  life  you  have  to  run.     Few  words 
are  necessary,  with  good  dispositions  on  your 

)art.  Adore  God ;  reverence  and  cherish 
our  parents ;  love  your  neighbor  as  your 
self,  and  your  country  more  than  life.  Be 
ust;  be  true;  murmur  not  at  the  ways  of 
Providence — and  the  life  into  which  you 
may  have  entered  will  be  one  of  eternal  and 
neffable  bliss.  And  if  to  _the  dead  it  is  per 
mitted  to  care  for  the  things  of  this  world, 
every  action  of  your  life  will  be  under  my 
regard.  Farewell. — To  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 
GROTJAN.  FORD  ED.,  x,  287.  (M.,  1824.) 

163.  ADVICE,   Proffering.— How  easily 
we  prescribe  for  others  a  cure  for  their  diffi 
culties,  while  we  cannot  cure  our  own. — To 
JOHN    ADAMS,    vii,   201.     FORD   ED.,   x,    187. 
(M.,  1821.) 

164.  ADVICE,     Ten    Precepts      of.— A 

Decalogue    of  Canons    for    Observation    in 
Practical   Life: — 

1.  Never  put  off  till  to-morrow  what  you 
can  do  to-day. 

2.  Never  trouble  another  for  what  you  can 
do  yourself. 

3.  Never    spend    your    money   before    you 
have  it. 

4.  Never  buy  what  you  do  not  want,  be 
cause  it  is  cheap ;  it  will  be  dear  to  you. 

5.  Pride  costs  us  more  than  hunger,  thirst 
and  cold. 

6.  We  never  repent  of  having  eaten  too 
little. 

7.  Nothing    is    troublesome    that    we    do 
willingly. 

8.  How  much  pain  have  cost  us  the  evils 
which  have  never  happened. 

9.  Take    things    always    by    their    smooth 
handle. 

10.  When    angry,    count    ten,    before    you 
speak:      if    very     angry,     an     hundred.— To 
THOMAS  JEFFERSON  SMITH,     vii,  401.     FORD 
ED.,  x,  341.     (M.,  1825.) 

165.  ADVICE,  Thankful  for. — I  am  ever 
thankful  for  communications  which  may 
guide  me  in  the  duties  which  I  wish  to  per 
form  as  well  as  I  am  able.— To  JOHN  DICK 
INSON,  v,  29.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  8.  (W.,  1807.) 

166. .     I    have    always    received 

with  thankfulness  the  ideas  of  judicious  per 
sons  on  subjects  interesting  to  the  public. — 
To  BENJAMIN  STODDERT.  v,  426.  FORD  ED., 
ix,  246.  (W.,  1809.) 

167. •     In  all  cases  I  invite  and 

shall  receive  with  great  thankfulness  your 
opinion  and  that  of  others  on  the  course  of 
things,  and  particularly  in  the  suggestion  of 


21 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Advice 
Age 


characters  who  may  worthily  be  appointed. — 

TO    PlERREPONT    EDWARDS.       FORD   ED.,    Vlii,    45- 

(W.,  March  1801.) 

168. .  Far  from  arrogating  the 

office  of  advice,  no  one  will  more  passively 
acquiesce  in  it  than  myself. — To  JOHN  H. 
PLEASANTS.  vii,  346.  FORD  ED.,  x,  304.  (M., 
1824.) 

169.  ADVICE,  Valued.—!  value  no  act 
of  friendship  so  highly  as  the  communicating 
facts  to  me,  which  I  am  not  in  the  way  of 
knowing  otherwise,  and  could  not  therefore 
otherwise  guard  against. — To  W.  C.  NICHO 
LAS,  v,  260.  (W.,  1808.) 

170. .     It   is    impossible   for   my 

friends  ever  to  render  me  so  acceptable  a 
favor,  as  by  communicating  to  me,  without 
reserve,  facts  and  opinions.  I  have  none 
of  that  sort  of  self-love  which  winces  at 
it;  indeed,  both  self-love  and  the  desire  to 
do  what  is  best  strongly  invite  unreserved 
communication. — To  WILSON  C.  NICHOLAS. 
v,  48.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  32.  (W.,  1807.) 

171.  ADVICE,   Unbiased.— The  greatest 
favor  which  can  be  done  me  is  the  communi 
cation  of  the  opinions  of  judicious  men,  of 
men  who  do  not  suffer  their  judgments  to 
be  biased   by   either  interests   or  passions. — 
To  CHANDLER  PRICE,    v,  46.    (W.,  1807.) 

—  AERONAUTICS.— See  BALLOONS. 

172.  AFFECTION,  Early.— I    find    as    I 
grow  older,  that  I  love  those  most  whom  I 
loved  first. — To  MRS.  JOHN  BOLLING.     FORD 
ED.,  iv,  412.     (P.,  1787.) 

173.  AFFECTION,  Of    friendship.— The 

happiest  moments  my  heart  knows  are  those 
in  which  it  is  pouring  forth  its  affections  to 
a  few  esteemed  characters. — To  MRS.  TRIST. 
FORD  ED.,  iv,  331.  (P.,  1786.)  See  FRIEND 
SHIP. 

174.  AFFECTION,     Parental.— Is     not 

parental  love  the  strongest  affection  known? 
Is  it  not  greater  than  that  of  self-preserva 
tion?— NOTE,  i,  149.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  206.  (1778.) 

175. .     Although  parental  be  yet 

stronger  than  filial  affection.  *  *  *  . 
NOTE,  i,  150.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  207.  (1778.) 

176.  AFFECTION,  Patriotic.— My  affec 
tions  are  first  for  my  own  country,  and  then, 
generally,     for    all     mankind. — To   THOMAS 
LAW.    v,  556.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  293.     (M.,  1811.) 

177.  AFFECTION,  Rewarded   by.— The 

affection  of  my  countrymen  *  *  *  was 
the  only  reward  I  ever  asked  or  could  have 
felt. — To  JAMES  MONROE,  i,  318.  FORD  ED., 
iii,  57.  (M.,  1782.)  See  FAMILY,  HOME. 

178.  AFFLICTION,     Consolation    in.— 
Tried  myself  in  the  school  of  affliction,  by  the 
loss    of    every    form    of    connection    which    can 
rive   the   human   heart,    I    know   well,    and    feel 
what   you   have   lost,   what  you  have   suffered, 
are    suffering,    and    have    yet    to    endure.     The 
same    trials    have    taught    me    that    for    ills    so 
immeasurable,    time    and    silence    are   the   only 
medicine.     I    will    not,    therefore,    by    useless 
condolences,    open    afresh   the    sluices   of   your 


grief,  nor,  although  mingling  sincerely  my  tears 
with  yours,  will  I  say  a  word  more  where  words 
are  vain. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vii,  107.  FORD 
EU.,  x,  114.  (M.,  1818.) 

179.  AFFLICTION,  Schooled  in.— There 
is  no  degree  of  affliction,  produced  by  the  loss 
of  those  dear  to  us,  which  experience  has  not 
taught    me    to    estimate.     I    have    ever    found 
time  and  silence  the  only  medicine,  and  these 
but  assuage,  they  never  can  suppress,  the  deep 
drawn    sigh    which    recollection    forever   brings 
up,  until  recollection  and  life  are  extinguished 
together. — To     JOHN     ADAMS,     vi,     221.     (M., 
1813.) 

180.  AFFLICTION,  Sympathy  in.— Long 
tried  in  the  same  school  of  affliction,   no  loss 
which  can  rend  the  human  heart  is  unknown  to 
mine ;  and  a  like  one  particularly,  at  about  the 
same  period  in  life,  had  taught  me  to  feel  the 
sympathies  of  yours.    The  same  experience  has 
proved   that   time,    silence   and   occupation   are 
its   only   medicines. — To   GOVERNOR  CLAIBORNE. 
v,  520.     (M.,   1810.) 

—  AFRICAN     SLAVE     TRADE.— See 

SLAVERY. 

181.  AGE,  Advancing.— Being  very  sen 
sible  of  bodily  decays  from  advancing  years, 
I  ought  not  to  doubt  their  effect  on  the 
mental  faculties.  To  do  so  would  evince 
either  great  self-love  or  little  observation  of 
what  passes  under  our  eyes;  and  I  shall  be 
fortunate  if  I  am  the  first  to  perceive  and 
to  obey  this  admonition  of  nature. — To  MR. 
WEAVER,  v,  88.  (W.,  June  1807.) 

182.  AGE,  Change  and.— I  am  now  of  an 

age  which  does  not  easily  accommodate  itself 
to  new  manners  and  new  modes  of  living. — 
To  BARON  GEISMER.  i,  427.  (P.,  1785.) 

183.  AGE,  Deformity  in.— Man,  like  the 
fruit  he  eats,  has  his  period  of  ripeness.    Like 
that,  too,  if  he  continues  longer  hanging  to 
the  stem,  it  is  but  an  useless  and  unsightly 
appendage. — To  HENRY  DEARBORN,     vii,  214. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  191.     (M.,  1821.) 

184.  AGE,  Desire  in.— Tranquillity  is  the 
summum  bonum  of  old  age. — To    MARK   L. 
HILL,   vii,  154.    (M.,  1820.) 

185.  AGE,    Dread   of   old. — I   have   ever 
dreaded   a   doting  old  age;    and   my  health 
has  been  generally  so  good,  and  is  now  so 
good,  that  I  dread  it  still.     The  rapid  decline 
of  my  strength  during  the  last  winter  has 
made   me   hope   sometimes   that   I    see   land. 
During  the  summer  I  enjoy  its  temperature, 
but  I  shudder  at  the  approach  of  winter,  and 
wish  I  could  sleep  through  it  with  the  dor 
mouse,  and  only  wake  with  him  in  the  spring, 
if  ever. — To  JOHN   ADAMS,    vii,   244.     FORD 
ED.,  x,  216.    (M.,  1822.) 

186.  AGE,  Duty  in  old.— Nothing  is  more 
incumbent  on  the  old,  than  to  know  when 
they    should   get   out   of   the   way,    and    re 
linquish  to  younger  successors  the  honors  they 
can  no  longer  earn,  and  the  duties  they  can 
no  longer  perform. — To  JOHN  VAUGHAN.     vi, 
417.     (M.,  1815.) 

187.  —         — .     I  resign  myself  cheerfully 
to  the  managers  of  the  ship,  and  the  more 


Age 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


22 


contentedly,  as  I  am  near  the  end  of  my  voy 
age. — To  EDWARD  LIVINGSTON,  vii,  342.  FORD 
ED.,  x,  300.  (M.,  1824.) 

188.  AGE,     Evils   of    protracted.— The 

solitude  in  which  we  are  left  by  the  death  of 
our  friends  is  one  of  the  great  evils  of  pro 
tracted  life.  When  I  look  back  to  the  days  of 
my  youth,  it  is  like  looking  over  a  field  of 
battle.  All,  all  dead !  and  ourselves  left  alone 
midst  a  new  generation  whom  we  know  not, 
and  who  know  not  us. — To  FRANCIS  A.  VAN 
DER  KEMP.  FORD  ED.,  x,  337.  (M.,  1825.) 

189.  AGE,  Fear  of  old.— -My  only  fear  is 
that  I  may  live  too   long.     This   would  be 
a    subject    of    dread    to    me. — To     PHILIP 
MAZZEI.     FORD    ED.,    viii,    15.     (M.,    March 
1801.) 

190.  AGE,  Insensible  to. — It  is  wonder 
ful  to  me  that  old  men  should  not  be  sensible 
that  their  minds  keep  pace  with  their  bodies 
in  the  progress  of  decay.    Our  old   revolu 
tionary    friend    Clinton,    for    example,      who 
was   a  hero,   but   never    a    man    of    mind, 
is    wonderfully    jealous    on    this    head.     He 
tells  eternally  the  stories  of  his  younger  days 
to    prove    his    memory,    as    if    memory    and 
reason  were  the  same  faculty.     Nothing  be 
trays   imbecility    so  much  as  the  being  in 
sensible  of  it.     Had  not  a  conviction  of  the 
danger    to    which    an    unlimited    occupation, 
of  the  Executive  chair  would  expose  the  re 
publican    constitution    of    our    government, 
made  it  conscientiously  a  duty  to  refuse  when 
I  did,  the  fear  of  becoming  a  dotard,  and  of 
being  insensible  of  it,  would  of  itself  have 
resisted  all  solicitations  to  remain. — To  DR. 
BENJAMIN  RUSH,    vi,  3.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  328. 
(P.F.,  1816.) 

191.  AGE,    Offerings   of. — Good    wishes 
are  all  an  old   man  has  to  offer  to  his  country 
or  friends. — To  THOMAS  LAW.    v,  557.     FORD 
ED.,  ix,  293.    (M.,  1811.) 

192.  AGE,  Oppressed  by.-— The  hand  of 
age   is   upon   me.     All   my   old    friends   are 
nearly  gone.     Of  those  in  my  neighborhood, 
Mr.  Divers  and  Mr.  Lindsay  alone  remain. 
If  you   could   make   it   a    panic  quarree,     it 
would  be  a  comfort  indeed.     We  would  be 
guile  our  lingering  hours  with  talking  over 
our  youthful  exploits,  our  hunts  on  Peter's 
mountain,  with  a  long  train  of  et  cetera,  in 
addition,   and   feel,   by   recollection  at  least, 
a  momentary  flash  of  youth.     Reviewing  the 
course  of  a  long  and  sufficiently  successful 
life,  I  find  in  no  portion  of  it  happier  mo 
ments  than  those  were. — To  JAMES  MAURY. 
vi,  54.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  351.    (M.,  1812.) 

193. .     The  hand  of  age  is  upon 

me.  The  decay  of  bodily  faculties  apprizes  me 
that  those  of  the  mind  cannot  be  un 
impaired,  had  I  not  still  better  proofs.  Every 
year  counts  my  increased  debility,  and  depart 
ing  faculties  keep  the  score.  The  last  year 
it  was  the  sight,  this  it  is  the  hearing,  the 
next  something  else  will  be  going,  until  all 
is  gone.  Of  all  this  I  was  sensible  before  I 
left  Washington,  and  probably  my  fellow 
laborers  saw  it  before  I  did.  The  decay  of 


memory  was  obvious ;  it  is  now  become  dis 
tressing.  But  the  mind,  too,  is  weakened. 
When  I  was  young,  mathematics  was  the 
passion  of  my  life.  The  same  passion  has 
returned  upon  me,  but  with  unequal  powers. 
Processes  which  I  then  read  off  with  the 
facility  of  common  discourse,  now  cost  me 
labor,  and  time,  and  slow  investigation. 
When  I  offered  this,  therefore,  as  one  of  the 
reasons  deciding  my  retirement  from  office, 
it  was  offered  in  sincerity  and  a  conscious 
ness  of  truth.  And  I  think  it  a  great  blessing 
that  I  retain  understanding  enough  to  be 
sensible  how  much  of  it  I  have  lost,  and  to 
avoid  exposing  myself  as  a  spectacle  for  the 
pity  of  my  friends;  that  I  have  surmounted 
the  difficult  point  of  knowing  when  to  retire. 
As  a  compensation  for  faculties  departed, 
nature  gives  me  good  health,  and  a  perfect 
resignation  to  the  laws  of  decay  which  she 
has  prescribed  to  all  the  forms  and  combina 
tions  of  matter. — To  WILLIAM  DUANE.  vi, 
80.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  367.  (M.,  Oct.  1812.) 

194.  — - —  .     The  epistolary  industry 

*     *     is    gone    from    me.     The    aversion 

has  been  growing  on  me  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  now,  near  the  close  of  seventy- 
five,  is  become  almost  insuperable.  I  am 
much  debilitated  in  body,  and  my  memory 
sensibly  on  the  wane.  Still,  however,  I  en 
joy  good  health  and  spirits,  and  am  as  in 
dustrious  a  reader  as  when  a  student  at 
college.  Not  of  newspapers.  These  I  have 
discarded.  I  relinquish,  as  I  ought  to  do, 
all  intermeddling  with  public  affairs,  com 
mitting  myself  cheerfully  to  the  watch  and 
care  of  those  for  whom,  in  my  turn,  I  have 
watched  and  cared. — To  BENJAMIN  WATER- 
HOUSE,  vii,  100.  FORD  ED.,  x,  103.  (M.. 
1818.) 

195.  AGE,  Vigor  in.— It  is  objected  *  *  * 
that  Mr.  Goodrich  is  seventy-seven  years  of 
age ;  but  at  a  much  more  advanced  age,  our 
Franklin  was  the  ornament  of  human  nature. 
— To  THE  NEW  HAVEN  COMMITTEE,     iv,  403. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  68.     (W.,   1801.) 

196.  AGE,    Warned     by.— Time,    which 
wears  all  things,  does  not  spare  the  energies 
of  body  and  mind  of  a  prcsque  octogenaire. 
While  I  could,  I  did  what  I  could,  and  now 
acquiesce    cheerfully    in    the    law    of    nature 
which,  by  unfitting  us  for  action,   warns  us 
to  retire  and  leave  to  the  generation  of  the 
day  the   direction  of   its   own   affairs.     The 
prayers   of   an   old   man    are   the   only   con 
tributions  left  in  his  power.     To  MRS.  K.  D. 
MORGAN.     FORD   ED.,    viii,   473.     (M.,    1822.) 

197. .     A  decline  of  health  at  the 

age  of  76,  was  naturally  to  be  expected,  and 
is  a  warning  of  an  event  which  cannot  be  dis 
tant,  and  whose  approach  I  contemplate  with 
little  concern ;  for  indeed,  in  no  circumstance 
has  nature  been  kinder  to  us,  than  in  the 
soft  gradations  by  which  she  prepares  us 
to  part  willingly  with  what  we  are  not  des 
tined  always  to  retain.  First  one  faculty 
is  withdrawn  and  then  another,  sight,  hear 
ing,  memory,  affection  and  friends,  filched 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Age 
Agriculture 


one  by  one,  till  we  are  left  among  strangers, 
the  mere  monuments  of  times,  facts,  and 
specimens  of  antiquity  for  the  observation  of 
the  curious. — To  MR.  SPAFFORD.  vii,  118. 
(M.,  1819.) 

198.  AGE,     Yielding    to.— I  am  not  the 
champion  called  for  by  our  present  dangers. 
"  Non    tali    auxilio,    nee    defcnsoribus    istis, 
tempus   eget."     A    waning   body,    a   waning 
mind,    and    waning    memory,    with    habitual 
ill  health  warn  me  to  withdraw  and    relinquish 
the  arena  to  younger  and  abler  athletes.     I 
am   sensible  myself,   if  others  are  not,   that 
this  is  my  duty.    If  my  distant  friends  know 
it  not,  those  around  me  can  inform  them  that 
they  should  not,  in  friendship,  wish  to  call 
me  into  conflicts,  exposing  only  the  decays 
which  nature  has  inscribed  among  her  un 
alterable    laws,    and    injuring    the    common 
cause  by  a  senile  and  puny  defence. — To  C. 
W.  GLOOCH.    vii,  430.     (M.,  1826.)  See  LIFE. 

—  AGENTS.— See  FOREIGN  AGENTS. 

199.  AGGRESSION,     Condemned.— We 

did  not  invade  their  [the  British  peoples']  is 
land,  carrying  death  or  slavery  to  its  inhabit 
ants. — DECLARATION  ON  TAKING  UP  ARMS. 
FORD  ED.,  i,  475.  (July  1775.) 

200.  AGGRESSION,     Encouraging.— It 
is  to  be  lamented  that  any  of  our  citizens,  not 
thinking  with  the  mass  of  the  nation  as  to  the 
principles  of  our  government,  or  of  its  ad 
ministration,   and   seeing  all    its   proceedings 
with  a  prejudiced  eye,  should  so  misconceive 
and  misrepresent  our  situation  as  to  encourage 
aggressions  from  foreign  nations.     Our  ex 
pectation    is,    that    their    distempered    views 
will  be  understood  by  others  as  they  are  by 
ourselves;    but    should    wars   be    the    conse 
quence  of  these  delusions,  and  the  errors  of 
our  dissatisfied  citizens  find  atonement  only 
in  the  blood  of  their  sounder  brethren,  we 
must  meet  it  as  an  evil  necessarily  flowing 
from   that  liberty   of   speaking   and    writing 
which    guards    our    other    liberties. — R.    TO 
PHILADELPHIA      DEMOCRATIC      REPUBLICANS. 
viii,  128.     (May  1808.) 

—  AGGRESSION,  Equal  Rights  and.— 
See  RIGHTS. 

201.  AGGRESSION,        Maritime.— The 
ocean,   which,   like   the   air,    is   the   common 
birthright  of  mankind,  is  arbitrarily  wrested 
from  us,  and  maxims,  consecrated  by  time, 
by  usage,  and  by  an  universal  sense  of  right, 
are   trampled   on  by   superior   force. — R.    TO 
A.    N.    Y.    TAMMANY    SOCIETY,     viii,    127. 
(1808.)     See  OCEAN. 

202.  AGGRESSION,   Military.— We  did 

not  embody  a  soldiery  to  commit  aggression 
on  them  [the  British  people]. — DECLARATION 
ON  TAKING  UP  ARMS.  FORD  ED.,  i,  475. 
(July  1775.) 

203.  AGGRESSION,       Prohibited.— We 

will  not  permit  aggressions  to  be  committed 
on  our  part,  against  which  we  remonstrated  to 
Spain  on  her  part. — To  ROBERT  SMITH,  v, 
368.  (M.,  Sep.  1808.) 


204.  AGGRESSION,  Punishment  for.— 

The  interests  of  a  nation,  when  well  un 
derstood,  will  be  found  to  coincide  with 
their  moral  duties.  Among  these  it  is  an  im 
portant  one  to  cultivate  habits  of  peace  and 
friendship  with  our  neighbors.  To  do  this 
we  should  make  provisions  for  rendering 
the  justice  we  must  sometimes  require  from 
them.  I  recommend,  therefore,  to  your  con 
sideration  whether  the  laws  of  the  Union 
should  not  be  extended  to  restrain  our  citi 
zens  from  committing  acts  of  violence  within 
the  territories  of  other  nations,  which  would 
be  punished  were  they  committed  within  our 
own.* — PARAGRAPHS  FOR  PRESIDENT'S  MES 
SAGE.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  119.  (1792.)  See  FILI 
BUSTERS. 

205.  AGITATION,     Necessity    for.— In 
peace  as  well  as  in  war,  the  mind  must  be 
kept    in    motion. — To    MARQUIS    LAFAYETTE. 
vii,  325.     FORD  ED.,  x,  280.     (M.,  1823.) 

206.  AGITATION,      Submission.— The 
force  of  public  opinion  cannot  be   resisted, 
when  permitted  freely  to  be  expressed.     The 
agitation  it  produces  must  be  submitted  to. 
It  is  necessary  to  keep  the  waters  pure. — To 
MARQUIS    LAYFAYETTE   vii,    325.     FORD    ED, 
x,  280.     (M.,   1823.) 

207.  AGRARIANISM,     Laws    of.— The 

tax  on  importations  *  *  *  falls  exclu 
sively  on  the  rich,  and  with  the  equal  parti 
tion  of  intestates'  estates  constitutes  the  best 
agrarian  law. — To  DUPONT  DE  NEMOURS,  v, 
584.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  321.  (M.,  1811.)  See 
ENTAILS,  PRIMOGENITURE,  MONOPOLY. 

208.  AGRICULTURE,  Art  of.— The  first 
and  most  precious  of  all  the  arts. — To  ROBERT 
R.  LIVINGSTON.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  445.  (Pa.,  1800.) 

209.  AGRICULTURE,  Atmosphere  and. 

— The  atmosphere  is  certainly  the  great  work 
shop  of  nature  for  elaborating  the  fertilizing 
principles  and  insinuating  them  into  the  soil. 
It  has  been  relied  on  as  the  sole  means  of  re 
generating  our  soil  by  most  of  the  land-hold 
ers  in  the  canton  I  inhabit,  and  where  rest 
has  been  resorted  to  before  a  total  ex 
haustion,  the  soil  has  never  failed  to  recover. 
If,  indeed,  it  be  so  run  down  as  to  be  in 
capable  of  throwing  weeds  or  herbage  of  any 
kind,  to  shade  the  soil  from  the  sun,  it  either 
goes  off  in  gullies,  and  is  entirely  lost,  or 
remains  exhausted  till  a  growth  springs  up  of 
such  trees  as  will  rise  in  the  poorest  soils. 
Under  the  shade  of  these  and  the  cover  soon 
formed  of  their  deciduous  leaves,  and  a 
commencing  herbage,  such  fields  sometimes 
recover  in  a  long  course  of  years;  but  this 
is  too  long  to  be  taken  into  a  course  of  hus- 

*  Jefferson  subsequently  recast  these  paragraphs 
as  follows  :  "  All  observations  are  unnecessary  on 
the  value  of  peace  with  other  nations.  It  would  be 
wise  however,  by  timely  provisions,  to  guard  against 
those  acts  of  our  own  citizens,  which  might  tend  to 
disturb  it,  and  to  put  ourselves  in  a  condition  to  give 
satisfaction  to  foreign  nations,  which  we  may  some 
times  have  occasion  to  require  from  them.  I  particu 
larly  recommend  to  your  consideration  the  means  of 
preventing  those  aggressions  by  our  citizens  on  the 
territory  of  other  nations,  and  other  infractions  of 
the  law  of  nations,  which,  furnishing  just  subject  of 
complaint,  might  endanger  our  peace  with  them." 


Agriculture 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


bandry.  Not  so,  however,  is  the  term  within 
which  the  atmosphere  alone  will  reintegrate 
a  soil  rested  in  due  season.  A  year  of  wheat 
will  be  balanced  by  one,  two,  or  three  years 
of  rest  and  atmospheric  influence,  according 

to  the  quality  of  the  soil. — To iv,  224. 

(Pa.,  1798.) 

210.  AGRICULTURE,    Commerce    and. 
— With  honesty  and  self-government  for  her 
portion,    agriculture    may    abandon    content 
edly  to  others  the  fruits  of  commerce  and 
corruption. — To  HENRY  MIDDLETON.    vi,  91. 
(M.,  Jan.  1813.) 

211.  AGRICULTURE,  Corn  vs.  pastur 
age. — In  every  country  as  fully  peopled  as 
France,  it  would  seem  good  policy  to  encour 
age  the  employment  of  its  lands  in  the  cul 
tivation    of   corn    rather    than    in    pasturage, 
and  consequently  to  encourage  the  use  of  all 
kinds  of  salted  provisions,  because  they  can 
be   imported   from   other   countries. — To   M. 
NECKAR.    iii,  120.     (P.,  1789.) 

212.  AGRICULTURE,     Devastated.— A 

very  considerable  portion  of  this  country 
[trance]  has  been  desolated  by  a  hail  [storm] 
*  *  *  Great  contributions,  public  and 
private,  are  making  for  the  sufferers.  But 
they  will  be  like  the  drop  of  water  Lorn  the 
finger  of  Lazarus.  There  is  no  remedy  for 
the  present  evil,  .but  to  bring  the  people  to 
such  a  state  of  ease,  as  not  to  be  ruined 
by  the  loss  of  a  single  crop.  This  hail  may 
be  considered  as  the  coup  de  grace  to  an  ex 
piring  victim. — To  M.  DE  CREVECOEUR.  ii,  458. 
(P.,  Aug.  1788.) 

213.  AGRICULTURE,     Discrimination 

against. — Shall  we  permit  the  greatest  part 
of  the  produce  of  our  fields  to  rot  on  our 
hands,  or  lose  half  its  value  by  subjecting 
it  to  high  insurance,  [in  the  event  of  war,] 
merely  that  our  shipbuilders  may  have 
brisker  employ?  Shall  the  whole  mass  of 
our  farmers  be  sacrificed  to  the  class  of  ship 
wrights? — OFFICIAL  OPINION.  vii,  625. 
(I793-) 

214.  AGRICULTURE,    Encouragement 
of. — [The]  encouragement  of  agriculture,  and 
of     commerce     as     its     handmaid,     I     deem 
[one  of  the]  essential  principles  of  our  gov 
ernment  and,  consequently  [one]  which  ought 
to    shape    its    administration. — FIRST    INAU 
GURAL    ADDRESS,     viii,    4.     FORD   ED.,    viii,    5. 

(1821.) 

215.  AGRICULTURE,  Equilibrium  of. 

— An  equilibrium  of  agriculture,  manufactures 
and  commerce  is  certainly  become  essential  to 
our  independence. — To  JAMES  JAY.  v,  440. 
(M.,  1809.) 

216.  AGRICULTURE,     Freedom     of.— 
Agriculture,     manufactures,     commerce    and 
navigation,  the  four  pillars  of  our  prosperity, 
are  the  most  thriving  when  left  most  free  to 
individual  enterprise.    Protection  from  casual 
embarrassments,  however,  may  sometimes  be 
seasonably  interposed. — FIRST_  ANNUAL  MES 
SAGE,    viii,    13.     FORD   ED.,   viii,    123.     (Dec. 
1801.) 


217.  AGRICULTURE,  French  and  Eng 
lish. — I  traversed  England  much,   and  own 
both  town  and  country  fell  short  of  my  ex 
pectations.     Comparing    it    with    France,     I 
found  a  much  greater  proportion  of  barrens, 
a  soil,  in  other  parts,  not  naturally  so  good 
as  this,  not  better  cultivated,  but  better  ma 
nured,  and  therefore  more  productive.     This 
proceeds    from    the    practice    of   long    leases 
there,  and    short  ones  here. — To  JOHN  PAGE. 
i,  549.    FORD  ED.,  iv,  213.     (P.,  1786.) 

218.  AGRICULTURE,  Grasses.—!  send 
some   seeds   of  a  grass,    found  very  useful 
in   the   southern    part    of    Europe,    and    par 
ticularly,    and    almost    solely    cultivated    in 
Malta.     It  is  called  by  the  names  of  Sulla, 
and  Spanish  St.  Foin,  and  is  the  Hedysarum 
coronarium  of  Linnaeus.     It  is  usually  sown 
early    in    autumn. — To    WILLIAM    DRAYTON. 
i,   554-     (P,   1786.) 

219. .     I    send    a    little    Spanish 

San  Foin,  represented  to  me  as  a  very 
precious  grass  in  a  hot  country.  I  would 
have  it  sowed  in  one  of  the  vacant  lots  of  my 
grass  ground. — To  NICHOLAS  LEWIS.  FORD 
ED.,  iv,  344.  (P.,  1786.) 

220. .     I  am  much  obliged  to  you 

for  your  attention  to  my  trees  and  grass.  The 
latter  is  one  of  the  principal  pillars  on  which 
I  shall  rely  for  subsistence  when  I  shall  be  at 
liberty  to  try  projects  without  injury  to  any 
body. — To  NICHOLAS  LEWIS.  FORD  ED.,  iv, 
343.  (P,  1786.) 

221.  AGRICULTURE,  Happiness  and. 
—The  United  States  *  *  *  will  be  more 
virtuous,  more  free  and  more  happy,  em 
ployed  in  agriculture,  than  as  carriers  or  man— 
ufacturers.  It  is  a  truth,  and  a  precious  one 
for  them,  if  they  could  be  persuaded  of  it. — 
To  M.  DE  WARVILLE.  ii,  n.  FORD  ED.,  iv, 
281.  (P.,  1786.) 

222. .     How    far   it    may   lessen 

our  happiness  to  be  rendered  merely  agricul 
tural;  how  far  that  state  is  more  friendly  to 
principles  of  virtue  and  liberty,  are  questions 
yet  to  be  solved. — To  HORATIO  GATES,  iv, 
213.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  205.  (Pa.,  1798.) 

223. .     In  general,  it  is  a  truth 

that  if  every  nation  will  employ  itself  in 
what  it  is  fittest  to  produce,  a  greater  quan 
tity  will  be  raised  of  the  things  contributing 
to  human  happiness,  than  if  every  nation  at 
tempts  to  raise  everything  it  wants  within  it 
self. — To  MR.  LASTEYRIE.  v,  315.  (W.,  1808.) 

224.  AGRICULTURE,  Hunting  and.— 
A  little  labor  in  the  earth  will  produce  more 
food  than  the  best  hunts  you  can  now  make, 
and   the   women   will   spin   and   weave   more 
clothing  than  the  men  can  procure  by  hunt 
ing.     We  shall  very  willingly  assist  you  in 
this  course  by  furnishing  you  with  the  neces 
sary  tools  and  implements,  and  with  persons 
to  instruct  you  in  the  use  of  them. — ADDRESS 
TO  CHICKASAWS.     viii,  199.     (1805.) 

225.  AGRICULTURE,   Income   from. — 

The  moderate  and  sure  income  of  husbandry 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Agriculture 


begets  permanent  improvement,  quiet  life, 
and  orderly  conduct,  both  public  and  private. 
— To  GENERAL  WASHINGTON,  ii,  252.  (P., 
1787.) 

226.  AGRICULTURE,      Land,       labor 
and. — The    indifferent    state    of    agriculture 
among  us  does  not  proceed  from  a  want  of 
knowledge  merely ;  it  is  from  our  having  such 
quantities  of  land  to  waste  as  we  please.     In 
Europe  the  object  is  to  make  the  most  of 
their  land,  labor  being  abundant;  here  it  is 
to  make  the  most  of  our  labor,  land  being 
abundant. — NOTES     ON    VIRGINIA,    viii,    332. 
FORD  ED.,  iii,  190.     (1782.) 

227.  AGRICULTURE,       Manufactures, 
commerce  and. — I  trust  the  good  sense  of 
pur  country  will  see  that  its  greatest  prosper 
ity  depends  on  a  due  balance  between  agricul 
ture,     manufactures      and      commerce. — To 
THOMAS  LEIPER.    v,  417.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  239. 
(W.,  1809.) 

228.  AGRICULTURE,    Model    plow.— I 

shall  with  great  pleasure  attend  to  the  con 
struction  and  transmission  to  the  Society 
[Agricultural  Society  of  Paris]  of  a  plow 
with  my  mould  board.  This  is  the  only  part 
of  that  useful  instrument  to  which  I  have 
paid  any  particular  attention.  But  knowing 
how  much  the  perfection  of  the  plough  must 
depend,  1st,  on  the  line  of  traction ;  2nd,  on 
the  direction  of  the  share;  3rd,  on  the  angle 
of  the  wing;  4th,  on  the  form  of  the  mould 
board;  and  persuaded  that  I  shall  find  the 
three  first  advantages,  eminently  exemplified 
in  that  which  the  Society  sends  me,  I  am  anx 
ious  to  see  combined  with  these  a  mould- 
board  of  my  form,  in  the  hope  it  will  still  ad 
vance  the  perfection  of  that  machine. — To 
M.  SYLVESTRE.  v,  313.  (W.,  1808.) 

229. .     I  have  received  the  medal 

of  gold  by  which  the  Society  of  Agriculture 
at  Paris  have  been  pleased  to  mark  their  ap 
probation  of  a  form  of  the  mould-board  which 
I  had  proposed;  also  *  *  *  the  information 
that  they  had  honored  me  with  the  title  of  for 
eign  associate  to  their  society.  I  receive  with 
great  thankfulness  these  testimonies  of  their 
favor,  and  should  be  happy  to  merit  them  by 
greater  services. — To  M.  SYLVESTRE.  v,  83. 
(W.,  1807.) 

230.  AGRICULTURE,     Morals     and.— 
The    pursuits    of    agriculture  *  *  *  are    the 
best  preservative  of  morals. — To  J.  BLAIR,    ii, 
248.     (Pa.,  1787.) 

231.  AGRICULTURE,  New  cultures.— 
The  greatest  service  which  can  be  rendered 
any  country  is  to  add  an  useful  plant  to  its 
culture;    especially   a   bread   grain;    next   in 
value  to  bread  is  oil. — SERVICES  OF  JEFFERSON. 
i,  176.    FORD  ED.,  vii,  477.     (1800?) 

232. .     Perhaps    I    may    render 

some  service  by  forwarding  to  the  [Agricul 
tural]  Society*  [of  South  Carolina]  such  new 
objects  of  culture,  as  may  be  likely  to  suc 
ceed  in  the  soil  and  climate  of  South  Caro 
lina.  In  an  infant  country,  as  ours  is,  these 

*  The  Society  had  elected  Jefferson  a  member. — 
EPITOR, 


experiments  are  important.  We  are  probably 
far  from  possessing,  as  yet,  all  the  articles  of 
culture  for  which  nature  has  fitted  our  coun 
try.  To  find  out  these,  will  require  abundance 
of  unsuccessful  experiments.  But  if,  in  a 
multitude  of  these,  we  make  one  useful  ac 
quisition,  it  repays  our  trouble.  Perhaps  it  is 
the  peculiar  duty  of  associated  bodies  to  un 
dertake  these  experiments.  Under  this  sense 
of  the  views  of  the  society,  *  *  *  I  shall  be 
attentive  to  procure  for  them  the  seeds  of 
such  plants  as  they  will  be  so  good  as  to 
point  out  to  me,  or  as  shall  occur  to  myself  as 
worthy  their  notice. — To  WILLIAM  DRAYTON. 
i,  554-  (P.,  1786.) 

233. m     I    received   the    seeds   of 

the  bread-tree.  *  *  *  One  service  of  this  kind 
rendered  to  a  nation,  is  worth  more  to  them 
than  all  the  victories  of  the  most  splendid 
pages  of  their  history,  and  becomes  a  source 
of  exalted  pleasure  to  those  who  have  been  in 
strumental  in  it. — To  M.  GIRAUD.  iv,  17^. 
(I797-) 

234. .     The  introduction  of  new 

cultures,  and  especially  of  objects  of  leading 
importance  to  our  comfort,  is  certainly  worthy 
the  attention  of  every  government,  and  noth 
ing  short  of  the  actual  experiment  should  dis 
courage  an  essay  of  which  any  hope  can  be 
entertained. — To  M.  LASTEYRIE.  v,  315.  (W., 
1808.) 

235.  AGRICULTURE,  Prosperity    and. 
— A  prosperity  built  on  the  basis  of  agricul 
ture  is  that  which  is  most  desirable  to  us, 
because  to  the  efforts  of  labor  it  adds  the  ef 
forts  of  a  greater  proportion  of  soil. — CIR 
CULAR  TO  CONSULS,     iii,  431.      (Pa.,   1792.) 
See  216. 

236.  AGRICULTURE,  Prostration  of.— 

The  long  succession  of  years  of  stunted  crops, 
of  reduced  prices,  the  general  prostration  of 
the  farming  business,  under  levies  for  the 
support  of  manufacturers,  &c.,  with  the  cal 
amitous  fluctuations  of  value  in  our  paper 
medium,  have  kept  agriculture  in  a  state  of 
abject  depression,  which  has  peopled  the 
western  States  by  silently  breaking  up  those 
on  the  Atlantic,  and  glutted  the  land  market, 
while  it  drew  off  its  bidders.  In  such  a  state 
of  things,  property  has  lost  its  character  of 
being  a  resource  for  debts.  Highland  in  Bel- 
ford,  which,  in  the  days  of  our  plethory, 
sold  readily  for  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
dollars  the  acre,  (and  such  sales  were  many 
then,)  would  not  now  sell  for  more  than 
from  ten  to  twenty  dollars,  or  one-quarter  or 
one-fifth  of  its  former  price. — To  JAMES  MAD 
ISON,  vii,  434.  FORD  ED.,  x,  377.  (M.,  Feb 
ruary  1826.) 

—  AGRICULTURE,  Rice.— See  RICE. 

237.  AGRICULTURE,    Riches    and.— 

The  pursuits  of  agriculture  are  the  surest 
road  to  affluence. — To  J.  BLAIR,  ii,  248.  (P., 
1787.) 

238.  AGRICULTURE,      Rotation      of 
crops. — By  varying  the  articles  of  culture,  we 
multiply  the  chances  for  making  something 


Agriculture 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


26 


and  disarm  the  seasons  in  a  proportionable 
degree,  of  their  calamitous  effect. — To  WILL 
IAM  DRAYTON.  ii,  199.  (P.,  1787-) 

239. .    I  find  *  *  *  that  a  ten 

years  abandonment  of  my  lands  to  the  rav 
ages  of  overseers,  has  brought  on  them  a  de 
gree  of  degradation  far  beyond  what  I  had 
expected.  As  this  obliges  me  to  adopt  a 
milder  course  of  cropping,  *  *  *  I  have  de 
termined  on  a  division  of  my  farm  into  six 
fields,  to  be  put  under  this  rotation :  first  year, 
wheat;  second,  corn,  potatoes,  peas;  third, 
rye  or  wheat,  according  to  circumstances; 
fourth  and  fifth,  clover  where  the  fields  will 
bring  it,  and  buckwheat  dressings  where  they 
will  not ;  sixth,  folding,  and  buckwheat  dress 
ings.  But  it  will  take  me  from  three  to  six 
years  to  get  this  plan  under  way. — To  PRESI 
DENT  WASHINGTON,  iv,  106.  FORD  ED.,  vi, 
509.  (M.,  May  I794-) 

240. .     I  find  the  degradation  of 

my  lands  by  ill  usage  much  beyond  what  I  had 
expected,  and  at  the  same  time  much  more 
open  land  than  I  had  calculated  on.  One  of 
these  circumstances  forces  a  milder  course  ol 
cropping  on  me,  and  the  other  enables  me  to 
adopt  it.  I  drop,  therefore,  two  crops  in  my 
rotation,  and  instead  of  five  crops  in  eight 
years,  take  three  in  six  years,  in  the  follow 
ing  order.  I.  Wheat.  2.  Corn  and  potatoes 
in  the  strongest  moiety,  potatoes  alone  or 
pease  alone  in  the  other  moiety,  according  to 
its  strength.  3.  Wheat  or  rye.  4.  Clover.  6. 
Folding  and  buckwheat  dressing.  Tn  such  of 
my  fields  as  are  too  much  worn  for  clover,  I 
propose  to  try  St.  Foin,  which  I  know  will 
grow  in  the  poorest  land,  bring  plentiful 
crops,  and  is  a  great  ameliator. — To  JOHN 
TAYLOR.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  506.  (M.,  1794.) 

241. .     It  has  been  said  that  no 

rotation  of  crops  will  keep  the  earth  in  the 
same  degree  of  fertility  without  the  aid  of 
manure.  But  it  is  well  known  here  that  a 
space  of  rest  greater  or  less  in  spontaneous 
herbage,  will  restore  the  exhaustion  of  a 
single  crop.  This  then  is  a  rotation;  and  as 
it  is  not  to  be  believed  that  spontaneous  herb 
age  is  the  only  or  best  covering  during  rest, 
so  may  we  expect  that  a  substitute  for  it  may 
be  found  which  will  yield  profitable  crops. 
Such  perhaps  are  clover,  peas,  vetches,  &c. 
A  rotation  then  may  be  found,  which  by  giv 
ing  time  for  the  slow  influence  of  the  atmos 
phere,  will  keep  the  soil  in  a  constant  and 
equal  state  of  fertility.  But  the  advantage  of 
manuring  is  that  it  will  do  more  in  one  than 
the  atmosphere  would  require  several  years 
to  do,  and  consequently  enables  you  so  much 
the  oftener  to  take  exhausting  crops  from  the 
soil,  a  circumstance  of  importance  where 

there  is  much  more  labor  than  land. — To . 

iv,  225.     (Pa.,  1798.) 

242. .     I  have  lately  received  the 

proceedings  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
Paris.  *  *  *  I  have  been  surprised  to  find 
that  the  rotation  of  crops  and  substitution  of 
some  profitable  growth  preparatory  for  grain, 
instead  of  the  useless  and  expensive  fallow, 


is  yet  only  dawning  among  them. — To  ROBERT 
R.  LIVINGSTON,    v,  224.     (W.,  1808.) 

243.  AGRICULTURE,  Societies.— I  have 
on  several  occasions  been  led  to  think  on  some 
means  of  uniting  the  State  agricultural  so 
cieties  into  a  central  society ;  and  lately  it  has 
been  pressed  from  England  with  a  view  to 
a  cooperation  with  their  Board  of  Agricul 
ture.  You  know  some  have  proposed  to  Con 
gress  to  incorporate  such  a  society.  I  am 
against  that,  because  I  think  Congress  cannot 
find  in  all  the  enumerated  powers  any  one 
which  authorizes  the  act,  much  less  the  giving 
the  public  money  to  that  use.  I  believe,  too, 
if  they  had  the  power,  it  would  soon  be  used 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  buy  with  sine 
cures  useful  partisans.  I  believe  it  will  thrive 
best  if  left  to  itself,  as  the  Philosophical  So 
cieties  are.  There  is  certainly  a  much  greater 
abundance  of  material  for  Agricultural  So-:; 
cieties  than  Philosophical.  But  what  should 
be  the  plan  of  union?  Would  it  do  for  the 
State  societies  to  agree  to  meet  in  a  central 
society  by  a  deputation  of  members?  If  this 
should  present  difficulties,  might  they  not  be 
lessened  by  their  adopting  into  their  society 
some  one  or  more  of  their  delegates  in  Con 
gress,  or  of  the  members  of  the  Executive 
residing  here,  who  assembling  necessarily  for 
other  purposes,  could  occasionally  meet  on 
the  business  of  their  societies?  Your  [New 
York]  Agricultural  Society,  standing  un 
doubtedly  on  the  highest  ground,  might  set 
the  thing  agoing  by  writing  to  such  State  so 
cieties  as  already  exist,  and  these  once  meet 
ing  centrally  might  induce  the  other  States  to 
establish  societies,  and  thus  complete  the  in 
stitution.  This  is  a  mere  idea  of  mine,  not 
sufficiently  considered  or  digested,  and  haz 
arded  merely  to  set  you  to  thinking  on  the 
subject,  and  propose  something  better  or  to 
improve  this.  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  con 
sider  it  at  your  leisure,  and  give  me  your 
thoughts  on  the  subject? — To  ROBERT  R. 
LIVINGSTON.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  492.  (W.,  Feb. 
1801.) 

244. .     Our  Agricultural  Society 

has  at  length  formed  itself.  Like  our  Ameri 
can  Philosophical  Society,  it  is  voluntary,  and  ^ 
unconnected  with  the  public,  and  is  precisely  '* 
an  execution  of  the  plan  I  formerly  sketched 
to  you.  Some  State  societies  have  been 
formed  heretofore ;  the  other  States  will  do 
the  same.  Each  State  society  names  two  of 
its  members  of  Congress  to  be  their  members 
in  the  Central  Society,  which  is  of  course  to 
gether  during  the  sessions  of  Congress.  They 
are  to  select  matter  from  the  proceedings  of 
the  State  societies,  and  to  publish  it.  *  *  * 
Mr.  Madison,  the  Secretary  of  State,  is  their 
President. — To  SIR  JOHN  SINCLAIR,  iv,  491. 
(W.,  1803.) 

245. .  Were  practical  and  observ 
ing  husbandmen  in  each  county  to  form  them 
selves  into  a  society,  commit  to  writing  them 
selves,  or  state  in  conversations  at  their  meet 
ings  to  be  written  down  by  others,  their  prac 
tices,  and  observations,  their  experiences  and 
ideas,  selections  from  these  might  be  made 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Agriculture 
Alexander  of  Rusaii 


from  time  to  time  by  every  one  for  his  own 
use,  or  by  the  society  or  a.  committee  of  it, 
for  more  general  purposes.  By  an  interchange 
of  these  selections  among  the  societies  of  the 
different  counties,  each  might  thus  become 
possessed  of  the  useful  ideas  and  processes  of 
the  whole ;  and  every  one  adopt  such  of  them 
as  he  should  deem  suitable  to  his  own  situa 
tion.  Or  to  abridge  the  labor  of  such  mul 
tiplied  correspondences,  a  central  society 
might  be  agreed  on  to  which,  as  a  common 
deposit,  all  the  others  should  send  their  com 
munications.  The  society  thus  honored  by 
the  general  confidence  would  doubtless  feel 
and  fulfil  the  duty  of  selecting  such  papers  as 
should  be  worthy  of  entire  communication,  of 
extracting  and  digesting  from  others  what 
ever  might  be  useful,  and  of  condensing  their 
matter  within  such  compass  as  might  recon 
cile  it  to  the  reading,  as  well  as  to  the  pur 
chase  of  the  great  mass  of  practical  men. 
Many  circumstances  would  recommend,  for 
the  central  society,  that  which  should  be  es 
tablished  in  the  county  of  the  seat  of  govern 
ment. — PLAN  FOR  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETIES. 
ix,  480.  (1811.) 

246.  AGRICULTURE,       Strawberry.— 
There  are  two  or  three  objects  which  you 
should  endeavor  to  enrich  our  country  with. 
One    is   the   Alpine    strawberry. — To   JAMES 
MONROE.     FORD  ED.,  vii,  21.     (M.,  1795.) 

247.  AGRICULTURE,  Support  from. — 

Agriculture  is  the  basis  of  the  subsistence, 
the  comforts  and  the  happiness  of  man. — To 
BARON  DE  MOLL,  vi,  363.  (M.,  1814.) 

248.  AGRICULTURE,    Threshing    ma 
chine. — I  shall  thank  you  most  sincerely  for 
the  model  of  the  threshing  machine,  besides 
replacing  the  expense  of  it.     The  threshing 
out  our  wheat  immediately  after  harvest  being 
the  only  preservative  against  the  weavil   in 
Virginia,  the  service  you  will  thereby  render 
that  State  will  make  you  to  them  a  second 
Triptolemus. — To  THOMAS  PINCKNEY.    FORD 
ED.,  vi,  214.     (Pa.,  1793.) 

249.  AGRICULTURE,       Tobacco.— To 
bacco    is    a    culture    productive    of    infinite 
wretchedness.    Those  employed  in  it  are  in  a 
continual  state  of  exertion  beyond  the  power 
of  nature  to  support.    Little  food  of  any  kind 
is  raised  by  them;  so  that  the  men  and  an 
imals  on  these  farms  are  badly  fed,  and  the 
earth  is  rapidly  impoverished.     The  cultiva 
tion  of  wheat  is  the  reverse  in  every  circum 
stance.    Besides  clothing  the  earth  with  herb 
age,  and  preserving  its  fertility,  it  feeds  the 
laborers  plentifully,  requires  from  them  only 
a  moderate  toil,  except  in  the  season  of  har 
vest,  raises  great  numbers  of  animals  for  food 
and  service,  and  diffuses  plenty  and  happiness 
among  the  whole.    We  find  it  easier  to  make 
an  hundred  bushels  of  wheat  than  a  thousand 
weight  of  tobacco,  and  they  are  worth  more 
when  made. — NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,     viii,  407. 
FORD  ED.,  iii,  271.     (1782.) 

250.  AGRICULTURE,      Utility.— Agri 
culture  is  the  most  useful  of  the  occupations 
of  man.— To  M.  SILVESTRE.  v,  83.  (W..  1807.) 


251.  AGRICULTURE,  Virginia.—  Good 
husbandry  with  us  consists  in  abandoning  In 
dian  corn  and  tobacco  ;  tending  small  grain,  some 
red  clover,  fallowing,  and  endeavoring  to  have, 
while  the  lands  are  at  rest,  a  spontaneous 
cover  of  white  clover.  I  do  not  present  this 
as  a  culture  judicious  in  itself,  but  as  good, 
in  comparison  with  what  most  people  there 
pursue.  Mr.  [Arthur]  Young  has  never  had 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  how  slowly  the  fertil 
ity  of  the  soil  is  exhausted^  with  moderate 
management  of  it.  I  can  affirm  that  the  James 
River  low-grounds,  with  the  cultivation  of  small 
grain,  will  never  be  exhausted  ;  because  we 
know,  that,  under  that  condition,  we  must  now 
and  then  take  them  down  with  Indian  corn,  or 
they  become,  as  they  were  originally,  too  rich 
to  bring  wheat.  The  highlands  where  I 
live,  have  been  cultivated  about  sixty  years. 
The  culture  was  tobacco  and  Indian  corn,  as 
long  as  they  would  bring  enough  to  pay  the 
labor  ;  then  they  were  turned  out.  After  four 
or  five  years  rest,  they  would  bring  good  corn 
again,  and  in  double  that  time,  perhaps,  good 
tobacco.  Then  they  would  be  exhausted  by  a 
second  series  of  tobacco  and  corn.  —  To  PRESI 
DENT  WASHINGTON,  iv,  4.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  83. 


—  AGRICULTURE,     Wheat.—  See    249, 
and  WHEAT. 

252.  AGRICULTURE,   Wisest  of    pur 
suits.  —  Agriculture  is  the  wisest  pursuit  of 
all.—  To  R.  IZARD.     i,  442.     (P.,  1785.) 

253.  --  .     Agriculture  is  our  wisest 
pursuit,  because  it  will  in  the  end  contribute 
most  to  real  wealth,  good  morals  and  hap 
piness.  —  To  GENERAL  WASHINGTON,     ii,  252. 
(P.,  1787-) 

254.  AGRICULTURE,    Writings    on.— 
Writings  on  agriculture  are  peculiarly  pleas 
ing  to  me,  for,  as  they  tell  us,  we  are  sprung 
from  the  earth,  so  to  that  we  naturally  re 
turn.  *  —  To  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON,     v.,  224. 
(W.,  1808.)     See  FARMERS  and  FARMING. 

—  AIR.—  See  209. 

—  ALBEMARLE     COUNTY.—  See     AP 

PENDIX. 

255.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Char 
acter  of.  —  A  more  virtuous  man,  I  believe, 
does  not  exist,  nor  one  who  is  more  enthu 
siastically  devoted  to  better  the  condition  of 
mankind.     He  will  probably,  one  day.  fall  a 
victim  to  it,  as  a  monarch  of  that  principle 
does  not  suit  a  Russian  noblesse.     He  is  not 
of  the  very  first  order  of  understanding,  but 

*  Jefferson  was  always  an  enthusiast  in  agriculture. 
He  was  never  too  busy  to  find  time  to  note  the  dates 
of  the  planting  and  the  ripening'  of  his  vegetables 
and  fruits.  He  left  behind  him  a  table  enumerating 
thirty-seven  esculents,  and  showing  the  earliest  date 
of  the  appearance  of  each  one  of  them  in  the  Wash 
ington  market  in  each  of  eight  successive  years.  He 
had  ever  a  quick  observation  and  a  keen  intelligence 
ready  for  every  fragment  of  new  knowledge  or  hint 
of  a  useful  invention  in  the  way  of  field  work.  All 
through  his  busy  official  life,  abroad  and  at  home,  he 
appears  ceaselessly  to  have  an  eye  on  the  soil  and1 
one  ear  open  to  its  cultivators  ;  he  is  always  compar 
ing  varying  methods  and  results,  sending  new  seeds  \ 
hither  and  thither,  making  suggestions^  trying  ex 
periments,  till,  in  the  presence  of  his  enterprise  and 
activity,  one  begins  to  think  that  the  stagnating 
character  so  commonly  attributed  to  the  Virginia 
planters  must  be  fabulous.—  JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR.  ,  Life 
of  Jefferson. 


Alexander  of  Russia 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


28 


he  is  of  a  high  one.  He  has  taken  a  peculiar 
affection  to  this  country  and  its  government, 
of  which  he  has  given  me  public  as  well  as 
personal  proofs.  Our  nation  being,  like  his, 
habitually  neutral,  our  interests  as  to  neutral 
rights,  and  our  sentiments  agree.  And  when 
ever  conferences  for  peace  shall  take  place,  we 
are  assured  of  a  friend  in  him.  In  fact,  al 
though  in  questions  of  restitution  he  will  be 
with  England,  in  those  of  neutral  rights  he 
will  be  with  Bonaparte,  and  with  every  other 
power  in  the  world  except  England ;  and  I  do 
presume  that  England  will  never  have  peace 
until  she  subscribes  to  a  just  code  of  marine 
law.  I  am  confident  that  Russia  (while  her 
present  monarch  lives)  is  the  most  cordially 
friendly  to  us  of  any  power  on  earth,  will  go 
furthest  to  serve  us,  and  is  most  worthy  of 
conciliation.— To  WILLIAM  DUANE.  v,  140. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  120.  (W.,  June  1807.) 

256. .  I  owe  an  acknowledg 
ment  to  your  Imperial  Majesty  for  the  great 
satisfaction  I  have  received  from  your  letter 
of  Aug.  20th,  1895,  and  embrace  the  opportu 
nity  it  affords  of  giving  expression  to  the  sincere 
respect  and  veneration  I  entertain  for  your 
character.  It  will  be  among  the  latest  and  most 
soothing  comforts  of  my  life,  to  have  seen  ad 
vanced  to  the  government  of  so  extensive  a 
portion  of  the  earth,  and  at  so  early  a  period 
of  his  life,  a  sovereign  whose  ruling  passion 
is  the  advancement  of  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  his  people ;  and  not  of  his  own 
people  only,  but  who  can  extend  his  eye  and 
his  good  will  to  a  distant  and  infant  nation, 
unoffending  in  its  course,  unambitious  in  its 
views. — To  THE  EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA,  v,  7 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  430.  (W.,  April  1806.) 

257.  ALEXANDER        OF        BUSSIA, 

France  and. — I  have  no  doubt  that  the  firm 
ness  of  Alexander  in  favor  of  France,  after 
the  disposition  of  Bonaparte,  has  saved  that 
country  from  evils  still  more  severe  than  she 
is  suffering,  and  perhaps  even  from  partition. — 
To  GEORGE  LOGAN,  vii,  20.  (M.,  1816.) 

258.  ALEXANDER         OF         RUSSIA 

Friendliness  to  U.  S.— Of  Alexander's  sense 
of  the  merits  of  our  form  of  government,  of  its 
wholesome  operation  on  the  condition  of  the 
people,  and  of  the  interest  he  takes  in  the 
success  of  our  experiment,  we  possess  the  mos 
unquestionable  proofs ;  and  to  him  we  shall  be 
indebted  if  the  rights  of  neutrals,  to  be  settlec 
whenever  peace  is  made,  shall  be  extendec 
beyond  the  present  belligerents ;  that  is  to  say 
European  neutrals,  as  George  and  Napoleon,  o 
mutual  consent  and  common  hatred  agains 
us,  would  concur  in  excluding  us.  I  though 
it  a  salutary  measure  to  engage  the  powerful  pat 
ronage  of  Alexander  at  conferences  for  peace 
at  a  time  when  Bonaparte  was  courting  him 
and  although  circumstances  have  lessened  it 
weight,  yet  it  is  prudent  for  us  to  cherish  hi 
good  dispositions,  as  those  alone  which  wi! 
be  exerted  in  our  favor  when  that  occasion 
shall  occur.  He,  like  ourselves,  sees  and  feel 
the  atrociousness  of  both  the  belligerents. — T 
WILLIAM  DUANE.  v,  553.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  287 
(M.,  Nov.  1810.) 

259. .  He  is  the  only  sovereig 

who  cordially  loves  us. — To  WILLIAM  DUANF 
v,  553.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  287.  (M.,  1810.) 

260.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Gif 
of  Books  to.— A  little  before  Dr.  Priestley' 


eath,  he  informed  me  that  he  had  received 
ntimations,  through  a  channel  he  confided  in, 
lat  the  Emperor  entertained  a  wish  to  know 
omething  of  our  Constitution.  I  have,  there- 
ore,  selected  the  two  best  works  we  have  on 
hat  subject,  for  which  I  pray  you  to  ask  a 
lace  in  his  library. — To  MR.  HARRIS,  v,  6. 
W.,  1806.) 

261.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Mis- 
ion  to. — Desirous  of  promoting  useful  in- 
ercourse     and     good     understanding     between 
rour  Majesty's  subjects  and  the  citizens  of  the 
Jnited    States    and   especially   to    cultivate   the 
riendship   of  your  Majesty,   I   have  appointed 
William  Short,*  one  of  our  distinguished  citi 
zens,    to    be    in    quality    of    Minister    Plenipo- 
entiary   of   the    United    States,    the   bearer   to 
you  of  assurances  of  their  sincere  friendship, 
,nd    of    their    desire    to    maintain    with    your 
Vlajesty  and  your  subjects  the  strictest  relations 
of  amity  and  commerce ;   he  will  explain  to  your 
Vlajesty  the  peculiar  position   of  these   States, 
separated   by    a   wide   ocean    from   the   powers 
of  Europe,  with  interests  and  pursuits  distinct 
rom    theirs,     and     consequently     without    the 
motives  or  the  appetites  for  taking  part  in  the 
associations   or   oppositions   which    a    different 
system  of  interests  produces  among  them :    he 
s  charged  to  assure  your  Majesty  more  partic 
ularly    of    our    purpose    to    observe    a    faithful 
neutrality   towards   the   contending   powers,    in 
the    war    to    which    your    Majesty    is    a    party, 
rendering  to  all  the  services  and  courtesies  of 
friendship,  and  praying  for  the  reestablishment 
of  peace  and  right  among  them ;  and  we  enter- 
:ain    an    entire    confidence    that    this    just    and 
faithful    conduct    on    the    part    of    the    United 
States  will  strengthen  the  friendly  dispositions 
you  have  manifested  towards  them,   and  be   a 
fresh    motive   with    so   just   and   magnanimous 
a  sovereign  to  enforce,  by  the  high  influence  of 
your  example,  the  respect  due  to  the  character 
and  the  rights  of  a  peaceable  nation. — To  THE 
EMPEROR    OF    RUSSIA,     v,    358.     FORD    ED.,    ix, 
206.     (W.,  Aug.   1808.) 

262.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Neu 
tral  Rights  and.— The  northern  nations  of 
Europe,  at  the  head  of  which  your  Majesty 
is  distinguished,  are  habitually  peaceable.  The 
United  States  of  America,  like  them,  are 
attached  to  peace.  We  have  then  with  them 
a  common  interest  in  the  neutral  rights.  Every 
nation  indeed,  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
belligerent  as  well  as  neutral,  is  interested 
in  maintaining  these  rights,  liberalizing  them 
progressively  with  the  progress  of  science  and 
refinement  of  morality,  and  in  relieving  them 
trom  restrictions  which  the  extension  of  the 
arts  has  long  since  rendered  unreasonable  and 
vexatious, — To  THE  EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA,  v,  8. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  440.  (W.,  April  1806.) 

263. .     The    events    of    Europe 

come  to  us  so  late,  and  so  suspiciously,  that 
observations  on  them  would  certainly  be  stale, 
and  possibly  wide  of  their  actual  state.  From 
their  general  aspect,  however,  I  collect  that 
your  Majesty's  interposition  in  them  has  been 
disinterested  and  generous,  and  having  in  view 
only  the  general  good  of  the  great  European 
family.  When  you  shall  proceed  to  the  pacifi 
cation  which  is  to  reestablish  peace  and  com 
merce,  the  same  dispositions  of  mind  will  lead 
you  to  think  of  the  general  intercourse  of 
nations,  and  to  make  that  provision  for  its 

*  Mr.  Short's  appointment  was  negatived  by  the 
senate  partly  on  personal  grounds,  but  more  espec 
ially  because  of  an  unwillingness  to  increase  the 
diplomatic  establishment.— EDITOR. 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Alexander  of  Russia 


future  maintenance  which,  in  times  past,  it  has 
so  much  needed. — To  THE  EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA. 
v,  8.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  439.  (W.,  April  1806.) 

264. .     Having  taken  no  part  in 

the  past  or  existing  troubles  of  Europe,  we  have 
no  part  to  act  in  its  pacification.  But  as 
principles  may  then  be  settled  in  which  we  have 
a  deep  interest,  it  is  a  great  happiness  for  us 
that  we  are  placed  under  the  protection  of 
an  umpire,  who,  looking  beyond  the  narrow 
bounds  of  an  individual  nation,  will  take  under 
the  cover  of  his  equity  the  rights  of  the  ab 
sent  and  unrepresented.  It  is  only  by  a  happy 
concurrence  of  good  characters  and  good 
occasions,  that  a  step  can  now  and  then  be 
taken  to  advance  the  well-being  of  nations. 
If  the  present  occasion  be  good,  I  am  sure  your 
Majesty's  character  will  not  be  wanting  to 
avail  the  world  of  it.  By  monuments  of  such 
good  offices,  may  your  life  become  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  condition  of  man  ;  and  may 
He  who  called  it  into  being,  for  the  good  of 
the  human  family,  give  it  length  of  days  and 
success,  and  have  it  always  in  His  holy  keep 
ing. — To  THE  EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA,  v,  8. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  440.  (W.,  April  1806.) 

265. .  Two  personages  in  Eu 
rope,  of  which  your  Majesty  is  one,  have  it 
in  their  power,  at  the  approaching  pacification, 
to  render  eminent  service  to  nations  in  general, 
by  incorporating  into  the  act  of  pacification  a 
correct  definition  of  the  rights  of  neutrals  on 
the  high  seas.  Such  a  definition  declared  by  all 
the  powers  lately  or  still  belligerent,  would  give 
to  those  rights  a  precision  and  notoriety,  and 
cover  them  with  an  authority,  which  would  pro 
tect  them  in  an  important  degree  against  future 
violation ;  and  should  any  further  sanction 
be  necessary,  that  of  an  exclusion  of  the  vio 
lating  nation  from  commercial  intercourse  with 
all  the  others,  would  be  preferred  to  war,  as 
more  analogous  to  the  offence,  more  easily  and 
likely  to  be  executed  with  good  faith.  The 
essential  articles  of  these  rights,  too,  are  so 
few  and  simple  as  to  be  easily  defined. — To  THE 
EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA,  v,  8.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  440. 
(W.,  April  1806.) 

266. .     That    the    Emperor    may 

be  able,  whenever  a  pacification  takes  place, 
to  show  himself  the  father  and  friend  of  the 
human  race,  to  restore  to  nations  the  moral 
laws  which  have  governed  their  intercourse, 
and  to  prevent,  forever,  a  repetition  of  those 
ravages  by  sea  and  land,  which  will  distinguish 
the  present  as  an  age  of  Vandalism,  I 
sincerely  pray. — To  COUNT  PAHLEN.  v,  527. 
(M.,  1810.) 

267.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Re 
form  and. — The  apparition  of  such  a  man 
[as  Alexander]  on  a  throne  is  one  of  the  phe 
nomena  which  will  distinguish  the  present  epoch 
so  remarkable  in  the  history  of  man.  But  he 
must  have  an  herculean  task  to  devise  and 
establish  the  means  of  securing  freedom  and 
happiness  to  those  who  are  not  capable  of 
taking  care  of  themselves.  Some  preparation 
seems  necessary  to  qualify  the  body  of  a  nation 
for  self-government.  Who  could  have  thought 
the  French  nation  incapable  of  it?  Alexander 
will  doubtless  begin  at  the  right  end,  by  taking 
means  for  diffusing  instruction  and  a  sense  of 
their  natural  rights  through  the  mass  of  his 
people,  and  for  relieving  them  in  the  mean 
time  from  actual  oppression. — To  DR.  JOSEPH 
PRIESTLEY.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  179.  (W.,  Nov.  1802.) 

268. .     The  information  *  *  *  as 

to  Alexander  kindles  a  great  deal  of  interest 


in  his  existence,  and  strong  spasms  of  the 
heart  in  his  favor.  Though  his  means  of  doing 
good  are  great,  yet  the  materials  on  which  he  is 
to  work  are  retractory.  Whether  he  engages 
in  private  correspondences  abroad,  as  the  King 
of  Prussia  did  much,  his  grandfather  some 
times,  I  know  not ;  but  certainly  such  a  corres 
pondence  would  be  very  interesting  to  those 
who  are  sincerely  anxious  to  see  mankind 
raised  from  their  present  abject  condition. — To 
THOMAS  COOPER,  iv,  452.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  177. 
(W.,  Nov.  1802.) 

269.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Trib 
ute  to.— I  am  much  flattered  by  the  kind  no 
tice    of    the    Emperor,    which    you    have    been 
so    obliging    as    to    communicate    to    me.     The 
approbation   of  the  good   is   always   consoling; 
but  that  of  a  sovereign  whose  station  and  en 
dowments  are  so  pre-eminent,  is  received  with 
a  sensibility  which  the  veneration  for  his  char 
acter  inspires.     Among  other  motives  of  com 
miseration    which  the  calamities  of  Europe  can 
not  fail  to  excite  in  every  virtuous  mind,  the 
interruption    which    these    have    given    to    the 
benevolent  views  of  the  Emperor,  is  prominent. 
The    accession    of    a    sovereign,    with    the    dis 
positions  and  qualifications  to  improve  the  con 
dition  of  a  great  nation,  and  to  place  its  happi 
ness   on   a  permanent  basis,   is   a  phenomenon 
so  rare  in  the  annals  of  mankind  that  when  the 
blessing    occurs,     it     is    lamentable    that    any 
portion  of  it  should  be  usurped  by  occurrences 
of  the   character   we   have   seen.     If   separated 
from  these  scenes  by  an  ocean  of  a  thousand 
leagues  breadth,  they  have  required  all  our  cares 
to    keep    aloof    from    their    desolating    effects, 
I   can   readily   conceive   how   much    more   they 
must  occupy  those  to  whose  territories  they  are 
contiguous. — To  COUNT  PAHLEN.     v,  526.    (M., 
1810.) 

270.  ALEXANDER   OF  RUSSIA,   Tri 
umphs  of. — To  the  wonders  of  Bonaparte's 
rise  and   fall,   we  may  add  that  of  a   Czar  of 
Muscovy,    dictating,   in  Paris,   laws   and  limits 
to  all  the  successors  of  the  Caesars,  and  holding 
even  the  balance  in  which  the  fortunes  of  this 
new  world   are   suspended. — To   JOHN   ADAMS. 
vi>  353-     FORD  ED.,  ix,  461.     (M.,  1814.) 

271.  ALEXANDER    OF    RUSSIA,    Vi 
enna  Congress  and.— The  magnanimity  of 
Alexander's    conduct    on    the    first    capture    of 
Paris  still  magnified  everything  we  had  believed 
of    him ;    but    how    he    will    come    out    of    his 
present    trial  ^  remains    to    be    seen.     That    the 
sufferings  which  France  had  inflicted  on  other 
countries   justified   severe   reprisals,    cannot   be 
questioned;    but   I   have   not   yet  learned   what 
crimes    of    Poland,    Saxony,   Belgium,   Venice, 
Lombardy   and   Genoa,    had   merited   for  them, 
not   merely   a  temporary   punishment,   but   that 
of    permanent    subjugation    and    a    destitution 
of     independence     and      self-government.     The 
fable  of   ^Esop  of  the  lion  dividing  the  spoils, 
is,  I  fear,  becoming  true  history,  and  the  moral 
code  of  Napoleon  and  the  English  government 
a  substitute  for  that  of  Grotius,  of  Puffendorf, 
and  even  of  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  great  au 
thor  of  our  holy  religion. — To  DR.  GEORGE  LO 
GAN,     vi,  497.     (M.,  Oct.   1815.) 

272. .  His  character  is  un 
doubtedly  good,  and  the  world,  I  think,  may  ex 
pect  good  effects  from  it.  *  *  *  I  sincerely 
wish  that  the  history  of  the  secret  proceedings 
at  Vienna  may  become  known,  and  may  recon 
cile  to  our  good  opinion  of  him  his  participa 
tion  in  the  demolition  of  ancient  and  inde 
pendent  States,  transferring  them  and  their 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


inhabitants  as  farms  and  stocks  of  cattle  at  a 
market  to  other  owners,  and  even  taking  a 
part  of  the  spoil  himself.  It  is  possible  to  sup 
pose  a  case  excusing  this,  and  my  partiality  for 
his  character  encourages  me  to  expect  it,  and  to 
impute  to  others,  known  to  have  no  moral 
scruples,  the  crimes,  of  that  conclave,  who 
under  pretence  of  punishing  the  atrocities  of 
Bonaparte,  reached  them  themselves,  and 
proved  that  with  equal  power  they  were  equally 
flagitious. — To  DR.  LOGAN,  vii,  20.  (Mv 
1816.) 

273.  ALEXANDER  OF  RUSSIA,  Vir 
tues  of. — I   had    *    *    *    formed  the  most 
favorable  opinion  of  the  virtues  of  Alexander, 
and  considered  his  partiality  to  this  country  as 
a  prominent   proof   of  them. — To   DR.    GEORGE 
LOGAN,     vi,  497.     (M.,    1815.) 

274.  ALEXANDRIA,  Baltimore  and.— 
It  is   not  amiss  to   encourage  Alexandria,   be 
cause  it  is  a  rival  in  the  very  bosom  of  Balti 
more. — To    TAMES   MONROE.     FORD   ED.,   iv,    10. 
(P.,  1784.) 

275.  ALEXANDRIA,       Future       of.— 
Alexandria   on   the    Potomac   will    undoubtedly 
become  a  very  great  place,  but  Norfolk  would 
be  best  for  cotton  manufactures. — To   M.   DE 
LA  VALEE.     i,  430.     (P.,  1785.) 

—  ALGIERS.— See  BARBARY  POWERS  and 
H37. 

276.  ALIENAGE,    Law    of   Violated.— 

The  bill  for  establishing  a  National  Bank  un 
dertakes  *  *  *  to  form  the  subscribers  into  a 
corporation,  [and]  to  enable  them,  in  their 
corporate  capacities,  to  make  alien  subscribers 
capable  of  holding  lands;  and  so  far  is 
against  the  laws  of  Alienage. — OPINION  ON 
THE  BANK  BILL.  vii,  555.  FORD  ED.,  v,  284. 
(February  1791.) 

—  ALIENATION     OF     TERRITORY. 

— See  TERRITORY. 

277.  ALIEN  AND  SEDITION  LAWS, 

Hatching. — One  of  the  war  party,  in  a  fit  of 
unguarded  passion,  declared  some  time  ago 
they  would  pass  a  citizen  bill,  an  alien  bill, 
and  a  sedition  bill ;  accordingly,  some  days 
ago,  Coit  laid  a  motion  on  the  table  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  for  modifying  the 
citizen  law.  Their  threats  point  at  Gallatin, 
and  it  is  believed  they  will  endeavor  to  reach 
him  by  this  bill.  Yesterday  Mr.  Hillhouse 
laid  on  the  table  of  the  Senate  a  motion  for 
giving  power  to  send  away  suspected  aliens. 
This  understood  to  be  meant  for  Volney  and 
Collot.  But  it  will  not  stop  there  when  it 
gets  into  a  course  of  execution.  There  is  now 
only  wanting,  to  accomplish  the  whole  dec 
laration  before  mentioned,  a  sedition  bill, 
which  we  shall  certainly  soon  see  proposed. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON,  iv,  237.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
244.  (Pa.,  April  26  1798.) 

278.  ALIEN  AND   SEDITION  LAWS, 
Introduction  of.— They  have  brought  into 
the  lower  House  a  sedition  bill,  which,  among 
other  enormities,  undertakes  to  make  printing 
certain  matters  criminal,  though  one  of  the 
amendments  to  the  Constitution  has  so  ex 
pressly  taken  religion,   printing  presses,   &c. 
out  of  their  coercion.  Indeed  this  bill,  and  the 


alien  bill  are  both  so  palpably  in  the  teeth  of 
the  Constitution  as  to  show  they  mean  to 
pay  no  respect  to  it. — To  JAMES  MADISON. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  266.  (Pa.,  June  1798.) 

279.  ALIEN  AND   SEDITION   LAWS, 
Petitions     against.— Petitions    and    remon 
strances  against  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws 
are  coming  from  various  parts  of  New  York, 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  *  *  *  I  am  in  hopes 
Virginia  will  stand  so  countenanced  by  those 
States  as  to  repress  the  wishes  of  the  Gov 
ernment  to  coerce  her,  which  they  might  ven 
ture  on  if  they  supposed  she  would  be  left 
alone.     Firmness  on  our  part,  but  a  passive 
firmness,  is  the  true  course.  Anything  rash  or 
threatening  might  check  the  favorable  dispo 
sitions  of  these  middle  States,  and  rally  them 
again  around  the  measures  which  are  ruin 
ing  us.— To  JAMES  MADISON,    iv,  279.    FORD 
ED.,  vii,  341.  (Pa.,  Jan.  1799.) 

280.  ALIEN  AND  SEDITION  LAWS, 
Planning  Insurrection  against.— In  Penn 
sylvania,  we  fear  that  the  ill-designing  may 
produce  insurrection   [against  the  Alien  and 
Sedition  laws].     Nothing  could  be  so  fatal. 
Anything  like  force  would  check  the  progress 
of  the  public  opinion,  and  rally  them  around 
the  government.    This  is  not  the  kind  of  op 
position   the   American   people    will     permit. 
But    keep  away  all  show  of  force,  and  they 
will  bear  down  the  evil  propensities  of  the 
government,  by  the  constitutional  means  of 
election  and  petition. — To  EDWARD   PENDLE- 
TON.     iv,  287.     FORD  ED.,  vii,  356.     (Pa.,  Feb. 
I799-) 

281. .     Several     parts     of     this 

State  [Pennsylvania]  are  so  violent  that  we 
fear  an  insurrection.  This  will  be  brought 
about  by  some  if  they  can.  It  is  the  only 
thing  we  have  to  fear.  The  appearance  of  an 
attack  of  force  against  the  government  would 
check  the  present  current  of  the  middle 
States,  and  rally  them  around  the  govern 
ment;  whereas  if  suffered  to  go  on,  it  will 
pass  on  to  a  reformation  of  abuses. — To 
ARCHIBALD  STUART,  iv,  286.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
354-  (Pa.,  Feb.  1799.) 

282.  ALIEN  AND  SEDITION  LAWS, 

Report  on. — Yesterday  witnessed  a  scandal 
ous  scene  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
It  was  the  day  for  taking  up  the  report  of 
their  committee  against  the  Alien  and  Sedi 
tion  laws,  &c.  They  [the  Federalists]  held  a 
caucus  and  determined  that  not  a  word  should 
be  spoken  on  their  side,  in  answer  to  anything 
which  should  be  said  on  the  other.  Gallatin 
took  up  the  Alien,  and  Nicholas  the  Sedition 
law ;  but  after  a  little  while  of  common  si 
lence,  they  began  to  enter  into  loud  conversa 
tions,  laugh,  cough,  &c.,  so  that  for  the  last 
hour  of  these  gentlemen's  speaking,  they  must 
have  had  the  lungs  of  a  vendue  master  to 
have  been  heard.  Livingston,  however,  at 
tempted  to  speak.  But  after  a  few  sentences, 
the  Speaker  called  him  to  order,  and  told  him 
what  he  was  saying  was  not  to  the  question. 
It  was  impossible  to  proceed.  The  question 
was  carried  in  favor  of  the  report,  52  to  48; 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA     Alien  and  Sedition  Laws 


the  real  strength  of  the  two  parties  is  56  to 
50. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  iv,  298.  FORD  ED., 
vii,  371.  (Pa.,  Feb.  1799.) 

283.  ALIEN   AND   SEDITION  LAWS, 
Scheme  of. — I  consider  these  laws  as  merely 
an  experiment  on  the  American  mind,  to  see 
how  far  it  will  bear  an  avowed  violation  of 
the  Constitution.  If  this  goes  down,  we  shall 
immediately  see    attempted    another    act    of 
Congress,  declaring  that  the  President  shall 
continue  in  office  during  life,  reserving  to  an 
other  occasion  the  transfer  of  the  succession 
to   the   heirs,   and   the   establishment   of   the 
Senate  for  life.     At  least,  this  may  be  the 
aim  of  the  Oliverians,  while  Monk  and  the 
Cavaliers,    (who  are  perhaps  the  strongest,) 
may  be  playing  their  game  for  the  restoration 
of  his   most  gracious   Majesty,   George   III. 
That    these    things    are  in  contemplation,  I 
have  no   doubt ;   nor  can   I   be  confident  of 
their  failure,  after  the  dupery  of  which  our 
countrymen   have   shown   themselves   suscep 
tible. — To  S.  T.  MASON,     iv,  258.     FORD  ED., 
vii,  283.     (M.,  1798.) 

284.  ALIEN  AND  SEDITION  LAWS, 

Suits  under. — I  discharged  every  person 
under  punishment  or  prosecution  under  the 
Sedition  law,  because  I  considered,  and  MOV 
consider,  that  law  to  be  a  nullity,  as  absolute 
and  as  palpable  as  if  Congress  had  ordered  us 
to  fall  down  and  worship  a  golden  image ; 
and  that  it  was  as  much  my  duty  to  arrest 
its  execution  in  every  stage,  as  it  would  have 
been  to  have  rescued  from  the  fiery  furnace 
those  who  should  have  been  cast  into  it  for 
refusing  to  worship  the  image.  It  was  ac 
cordingly  done  in  every  instance,  without 
asking  what  the  offenders  had  done,  or 
against  whom  they  had  offended,  but  whether 
the  pains  they  were  suffering  were  inflicted 
under  the  pretended  Sedition  law. — To  MRS. 
JOHN  ADAMS,  iv,  536.  FORDED.,  viii,  309.  (W., 
July  1804.) 

285. .  With  respect  to  the  dis 
mission  of  the  prosecutions  for  sedition  in 
Connecticut,  it  is  well  known  to  have  been 
a  tenet  of  the  republican  portion  of  our  fellow 
citizens,  that  the  Sedition  law  was  contrary 
to  the  Constitution  and,  therefore,  void.  On 
this  ground  I  considered  it  as  a  nullity  when 
ever  I  met  it  in  the  course  of  my  duties ;  and 
on  this  ground  I  directed  nolle  prosequis  in 
all  the  prosecutions  which  had  been  insti 
tuted  under  it ;  and,  as  far  as  the  public  senti 
ment  can  be  inferred  from  the  occurrences  of 
the  day,  we  must  say  that  this  opinion  had 
the  sanction  of  the  nation.  The  prosecutions, 
therefore,  which  were  afterwards  instituted 
in  Connecticut,  of  which  two  were  against 
printers,  two  against  preachers,  and  one 
against  a  judge,  were  too  inconsistent  with 
this  principle  to  be  permitted  to  go  on.  We 
were  bound  to  administer  to  others  the  same 
measure  of  law,  not  which  they  had  meted 
to  us,  but  we  to  ourselves,  and  to  extend  to 
all  equally  the  protection  of  the  same  consti 
tutional  principles.  These  prosecutions,  too. 
were  chiefly  for  charges  against  myself,  and 
I  had  from  the  beginning  laid  it  down  as  a 


rule  to  notice  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  believed 
that  the  long  course  of  services  in  which  I 
had  acted  on  the  public  stage,  and  under  the 
eye  of  my  fellow  citizens,  furnished  better 
evidence  to  them  of  my  character  and  prin 
ciples,  than  the  angry  invectives  of  adverse 
partisans  in  whose  eyes  the  very  acts  most 
approved  by  the  majority  were  subjects  of 
the  greatest  demerit  and  censure.  These 
prosecutions  against  them,  therefore,  were  to 
be  dismissed  as  a  matter  of  duty — To  GIDEON 
GRANGER,  vi,  332.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  456.  (M., 
1814.) 

286.  ALIEN  AND   SEDITION  LAWS, 

Tyrannical.— If  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Acts 
should  stand,  these  conclusions  would  flow 
from  them:  that  the  General  Government 
may  place  any  act  they  think  proper  on  the 
list  of  crimes,  and  punish  it  themselves 
whether  enumerated  or  not  enumerated  by 
the  Constitution  as  cognizable  by  them  :  that 
they  may  transfer  its  cognizance  to  the  Presi 
dent,  or  any  other  person,  who  may  himself 
be  the  accuser,  counsel,  judge  and  jury, 
whose  suspicion  may  be  the  evidence,  his 
order  the  sentence,  his  officer  the  executioner, 
and  his  breast  the  sole  record  of  the  transac 
tion  :  that  a  very  numerous  and  valuable  de 
scription  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  states 
being,  by  this  precedent,  reduced,  as  outlaws, 
to  the  absolute  dominion  of  one  man,  and 
the  barrier  of  the  Constitution  thus  swept 
away  from  us  all,  no  rampart  now  remains 
against  the  passions  and  the  powers  of  a  ma 
jority  in  Congress  to  protect  from  a  like  ex 
portation,  or  other  more  grievous  punish 
ment,  the  minority  of  the  same  body,  the 
legislatures,  judges,  governors,  and  counsel 
lors  of  the  States,  nor  their  other  peaceable 
inhabitants,  who  may  venture  to  reclaim  the 
constitutional  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
States  and  people,  or  who  for  other  causes, 
good  or  bad.  may  be  obnoxious  to  the  views, 
or  marked  by  the  suspicions  of  the  Presi 
dent,  or  be  thought  dangerous  to  his  or  their 
election,  or  other  interests,  public  or  per 
sonal  :  that  the  friendless  alien  has  indeed 
been  selected  as  the  safest  subject  of  a 
first  experiment;  but  the  citizen  will  soon 
follow,  or  rather,  has  already  followed, 
for  already  has  a  Sedition  Act  marked 
him  as  its  prey:  that  these  and  successive 
acts  of  the  same  character,  unless  arrested 
at  the  threshold,  necessarily  drive  these 
States  into  revolution  and  blood,  and 
will  furnish  new  calumnies  aerainst  republi 
can  government,  and  new  pretexts  for  those 
who  wish  it  to  be  believed  that  man  cannot 
be  governed  but  by  a  rod  of  iron. — KEN 
TUCKY  RESOLUTIONS,  ix,  469.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
302.  (1798.) 

287.  ALIEN   AND   SEDITION  LAWS, 

Unconstitutional.— For  the  present,  I  should 
be  for  resolving  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws 
to  be  against  the  Constitution  and  merely 
void,  and  for  addressing  the  other  States  to 
obtain  similar  declarations :  and  I  would  not 
do  anything  at  this  moment  which  should 
commit  us  further,  but  reserve  ourselves  to 


Alien  and  Sedition  Laws     THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


Alliance 


shape  our  future  measures,  or  no  measures, 
by  the  events  which  may  happen. — To  JOHN 
TAYLOR,  iv,  260.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  311.  (M.,  Nov. 
1798.) 

288. .     Alien   friends   are   under 

the  jurisdiction  and  protection  of  the  laws  of 
the  State  wherein  they  are:  no  power  over 
them  has  been  delegated  to  the  United  States, 
nor  prohibited  to  the  individual  States,  dis 
tinct  from  their  power  over  citizens.  And  it 
being  true  as  a  general  principle,  and  one  of 
the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  having 
also  declared  that  "  the  powers  not  delegated 
to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor 
prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to 
the  States  respectively,  or  to  the  people,"  the 
act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 

passed  on  the day  of  July,  1798,  intituled 

"  An  Act  concerning  Aliens,"  which  assumes 
powers  over  alien  friends,  not  delegated  by 
the  Constitution,  is  not  law,  but  is  altogether 
void,  and  of  no  force.— KENTUCKY  RESOLU 
TIONS,  ix,  466.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  296.  (1798.) 

289.  ALIEN   AND   SEDITION  LAWS, 

Viciousness  of. — The  Alien  bill  *  *  *  is  a 
most  detestable  thing.— To  JAMES  MADISON. 
iv,  244.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  260.  (Pa.,  May  1798.) 

290. .     That  libel  on  legislation. 

— To  DR.  JOSEPH  PRIESTLEY,  iv,  374.  FORD 
ED.,  viii,  22.  (W.,  March  1801.)  See  SEDITION 
LAW. 

291.  ALIENS,  Forcible  Bemoval  of.— In 

addition  to  the  general  principle,  as  well  as 
the  express  declaration,  that  powers  not 
delegated  are  reserved,  another  and  more 
special  provision,  inserted  in  the  Constitution 
from  abundant  caution,  has  declared  that 
"  the  migration  or  importation  of  such  per 
sons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall 
think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited 
by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  1808."  *  *  * 
This  Commonwealth  [Kentucky]  does  admit 
the  migration  of  alien  friends,  described  as 
the  subject  of  the  said  act  concerning  aliens. 
*  *  *  A.  provision  against  prohibiting 
their  migration  is  a  provision  against  all 
acts  equivalent  thereto,  or  it  would  be 
nugatory.  *  *  *  To  remove  them 
when  migrated,  is  equivalent  to  a  pro 
hibition  of  their  migration,  and  is,  therefore, 
contrary  to  the  said  provision  of  the  Consti 
tution,  and  void. — KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS. 
ix,  466.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  296.  (1798.) 

292.  ALIENS,  The  Revolution  and.— I 

do  not  know  that  there  has  been  any  Ameri 
can  determination  on  the  question  whether 
American  citizens  and  Britsh  subjects,  born 
before  the  Revolution,  can  be  aliens  to  one  an 
other?  I  know  there  is  an  opinion  of  Lord 
Coke's,  in  Colvin's  case,  that  if  England  and 
Scotland  should,  in  the  course  of  descent, 
pass  to  separate  kings,  those  born  under  the 
same  sovereign  during  the  union,  would  re 
main  natural  subjects  and  not  aliens.  Com 
mon  sense  urges  some  considerations  against 
this.  Natural  subjects  owe  allegiance;  but 
we  owe  none.  Aliens  are  the  subjects  of  a 
foreign  power;  we  are  not  subjects  of  a  for 


eign  power.  The  King,  by  the  treaty,  ac 
knowledges  our  independence ;  how,  then,  can 
we  remain  natural  subjects?  The  King's 
power  is,  by  the  Constitution,  competent  to 
the  making  peace,  war  and  treaties.  He  had, 
therefore,  authority  to  relinquish  our  alle 
giance  by  treaty.  But  if  an  act  of  parliament 
had  been  necessary,  the  parliament  passed  an 
act  to  confirm  the  treaty.  So  that  it  appears 
to  me  that,  in  this  question,  fictions  of  law 
alone  are  opposed  to  sound  sense. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  i,  530.  (P.,  1786.) 

293.  ALLEGIANCE,     Renounced.— We, 

therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  General  Congress  as 
sembled,  do  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  good  people  of  these  States  reject  and 
renounce  all  allegiance  and  subjection  to  the 
kings  of  Great  Britain  and  all  others  who 
may  hereafter  claim  by,  through,  or  under 
them;  we  utterly  dissolve  all  political  con 
nection  which  may  heretofore  have  subsisted 
between  us  and  the  people  or  parliament  of 
Great  Britain*  —  DECLARATION  OF  IN 
DEPENDENCE  AS  DRAWN  BY  JEFFERSON. 

294.  ALLEGIANCE,      Repudiated.— He 

has  abdicated  government  here,  withdraw 
ing  his  governors,  and  declaring  us  out 
of  his  allegiance  and  protection.^ — DECLARA 
TION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AS  DRAWN  BY  JEFFER 
SON. 

295.  ALLEN,  Protection  of  Ethan.— It 
is  with  pain  we  fear  that  Mr.  [Ethan]  Allen 
and   others,   taken   with   him   while   fighting 
bravely  in  their  country's  cause,  are  sent  to 
Britain  in  irons,  to  be  punished  for  pretended 
treason;    treasons,    too,    created    by    one    of 
those  very  laws  whose  obligation  we  deny, 
and  mean  to  contest  by  the  sword.  This  ques 
tion  will  not  be  decided  by  seeking  vengeance 
on  a  few  helpless  captives  but  by  achieving 
success  in  the  fields  of  war,  and  gathering 
there  those  laurels  which  grow  for  the  war 
rior  brave.    *    *    *     We  have  ordered  Brig 
adier  General  Prescot  to  be  bound  in  irons, 
and  to  be  confined  in  close  jail,  there  to  ex 
perience    corresponding    miseries     to     those 
which  shall  be  inflicted  on  Mr.  Allen.     His 
life  shall  answer  for  that  of  Mr.  Allen.}:  — 
CONGRESS    RESOLUTION.      FORD    ED.,    i,    494. 
(Dec.  I775-) 

296.  ALLIANCE,    Abjure.— I     sincerely 
join  you  in  abjuring  all  political  connection 
with  every  foreign  power ;  and  though  I  cor 
dially  wish  well  to  the  progress  of  liberty  in 
all   nations,   and   would   forever  give  it  the 
weight  of  our  countenance,  yet  they  are  not 

*  Congress  struck  out  the  italicized  words  and 
inserted  :  "  Colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare, 
that  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to 
be,  Free  and  Independent  States ;  that  they  are  ab 
solved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and 
that  all  political  connection  between  them  and  the 
State  of  Great  Britain,  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally 
dissolved."  Congress  also  inserted  after  the  word 
"assembled,"  the  words,  "appealing  to  the  Su- 

Kreme  Judge  of  the  World  for  the  rectitude  of  our 
itentions.  "—EDITOR. 

t  Congress  struck  out  the  words  in  italics  and  in 
serted  "by  declaring  us  out  of,  his  protection,  and 
waging  war  against  us."— EDITOR. 
\  Not  adopted  by  Congress.— EDITOR. 


33 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Alliance 
Alliances 


to  be  touched  without  contamination  from 
their  other  bad  principles. — To  T.  LOMAX. 
iv,  301.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  374.  (M.,  March 
I799-) 

297.  ALLIANCE,     Coercion     and.— The 
British  ministers  equivocate  on  every  proposal 
of    a    treaty    of    commerce  *  *  *  unless,  in 
deed,  we  would  agree  to  make  it  a  treaty  of 
alliance  as  well  as  commerce,  so  as  to  under 
mine    our    obligations    with     France.     This 
method  of  stripping  that  rival  nation  of  its  al 
liances,  they  tried  successfully  with  Holland, 
endeavored  at  it  with  Spain,  and  have  plainly 
and  repeatedly  suggested  to  us.    For  this  they 
would  probably  relax  some  of  the  rigors  they 
exercise    against    our    commerce. — OFFICIAL 
REPORT,     vii,  518.     (December  1790.) 

298.  ALLIANCE,   Dangerous.— An  alli 
ance    [with   Great   Britain]    with   a  view  to 
partition  of  the  Floridas  and  Louisiana,  is  not 
what  we  would  wish,  because  it  may  eventu 
ally  lead  us  into  embarrassing  situations  with 
our  best  friend,  and  put  the  power  of  two 
neighbors  into  the  hands  of  one.  Lord     Lans- 
downe  has  declared  he  gave  the  Floridas  to 
Spain    rather   than   the   United    States   as   a 
bone  of  discord  with  the  House  of  Bourbon, 
and  of  reunion  with  Great  Britain. — INSTRUC 
TIONS    TO    WILLIAM    CARMICHAEL.     ix,    413. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  227.    (1790.) 

299.  ALLIANCE,     Deprecated.— I     sin 
cerely  deplore  the  situation  of  our  affairs  with 
France.     War  with  them,  and  consequent  al 
liance   with   Great   Britain,     will    completely 
compass  the  object  of  the  Executive  council, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  war  between 
France  and  England ;  taken  up  by  some  of 
them  from  that  moment,  by  others,  more  lat 
terly.    I  still,  however,  hope  it  will  be  avoided. 
— To  JAMES  MADISON,    iv,  162.    FORD  ED.,  vii, 
108.     (M.,  Jan.  1797.) 

300.  ALLIANCE,  Destructive.— To  take 
part  in  European  conflicts  would  be  to  divert 
our  energies  from  creation  to  destruction. — 
To  GEORGE  LOGAN.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  23.     (W., 
March  1801.) 

301.  ALLIANCE,  Divorce  from  all.— As 

to  everything  except  commerce,  we  ought  to 
divorce  ourselves  from  them  all.  But  this 
system  would  require  time,  temper,  wisdom, 
and  occasional  sacrifice  of  interest;  and  how 
far  all  of  these  will  be  ours,  our  children  may 
see,  but  we  shall  not.  The  passions  are  too 
high  at  present,  to  be  cooled  in  our  day. — To 
EDWARD  RUTLEDGE.  iv,  191.  FORD  ED.,  vii, 
154-  (Pa.,  I797-) 

802. .     Better   keep    together    as 

we  are,  haul  off  from  Europe  as  soon  as  we 
can.  and  from  all  attachments  to  any  portions 
of  it. — To  JOHN  TAYLOR,  iv,  247.  FORD  ED., 
vii,  265.  (Pa.,  1798.) 

303. .  Commerce  with  all  na 
tions,  alliance  with  none,  should  be  our  motto. 
— To  T.  LOMAX.  iv,  301.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  374. 
(M.,  March  1799.) 

304. .  It  ought  to  be  the  very 

first  object  of  our  pursuits  to  have  nothing  to 


do  with  the  European  interests  and  politics. 
Let  them  be  free  or  slaves,  at  will,  navigators 
or  agriculturists,  swallowed  into  one  govern 
ment  or  divided  into  a  thousand,  we  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  them  in  any  form. — 
To  GEORGE  LOGAN.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  23.  (W., 
March  1801.) 

305.  ALLIANCES,  Entangling.— I  know 
that  it  is  a  maxim  with  us,  and  I  think  it  a 
wise  one,  not  to  entangle  ourselves  with  the 
affairs  of  Europe. — To  E.  CARRINGTON.  ii, 
334-  FORD  ED.,  iv,  483.  (P.,  1787.) 

306. .     I  am  for  free  commerce 

with  all  nations;  political  connection  with 
none;  and  little  or  no  diplomatic  establish 
ment.  And  I  am  not  for  linking  ourselves  by 
new  treaties  with  the  quarrels  of  Europe;  en 
tering  that  field  of  slaughter  to  preserve  their 
balance,  or  joining  in  the  confederacy  of 
Kings  to  war  against  the  principles  of  lib 
erty. — To  ELBRIDGE  GERRY,  iv,  268.  FORD  ED., 
vii,  328.  (Pa.,  1 799-) 

307. .  Let  our  affairs  be  disen 
tangled  from  those  of  all  other  nations,  ex 
cept  as  to  commerce. — To  GIDEON  GRANGER. 
iv,  331.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  452.  (M.,  1800.) 

308. .     The  Constitution  thought 

it  wise  to  restrain  the  Executive  and  Senate 
from  entangling  and  embroiling  our  affairs 
with  those  of  Europe. — PARLIAMENTARY 
MANUAL,  ix,  81.  (1800.) 

309. .     Honest    friendship    with 

all  nations,  entangling  alliances  with  none,  I 
deem  [one  of  the]  essential  principles  of  our 
government  and,  consequently,  [one]  which 
ought  to  shape  its  administration. — FIRST  IN 
AUGURAL  ADDRESS,  viii,  4.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  4. 
(1801.) 

310. .     Determined  as  we  are  to 

avoid,  if  possible,  wasting  the  energies  of  our 
people  in  war  and  destruction,  we  shall  avoid 
implicating  ourselves  with  the  powers  of 
Europe,  even  in  support  of  principles  which 
we  mean  to  pursue.  They  have  so  many  other 
interests  different  from  ours,  that  we  must 
avoid  being  entangled  in  them.  We  believe 
we  can  enforce  these  principles,  as  to  our 
selves,  by  peaceable  means,  now  that  we  are 
likely  to  have  our  public  councils  detached 
from  foreign  views. — To  THOMAS  PAINE,  iv, 
370.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  18.  (W.,  March  1801.) 

311. .     Peace,      and      abstinence 

from  European  interferences,  are  our  objects. 
—To  M.  DUPONT  DE  NEMOURS,  iv,  436.  (W., 
April  1802.) 

312. .     It  is  against  our  system 

*  *  *  to  entangle  ourselves  at  all  with  the  af 
fairs  of  Europe. — To  PHILIP  MAZZEI.  iv, 
553-  (W.,  July  1864.) 

313. .     pur    nation    has    wisely 

avoided  entangling  itself  in  the  system  of 
European  interests,  has  taken  no  side  be 
tween  its  rival  powers,  attached  itself  to 
none  of  its  ever-changing  confederacies. — 
R.  TO  A.  OF  BALTIMORE  BAPTISTS,  viii,  137. 
(1808.) 


Alliances 

Alluvium 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


34 


314. .     The  less  we  have  to  do 

with  the  amities  or  enmities  of  Europe  the 
better. — To  THOMAS  LEIPER.  vi,  465.  FORD 
ED.,  ix,  520.  (M.,  1815.) 

315. .     All    entanglements    with 

that  quarter  of  the  globe  [Europe]  should  be 
avoided  if  we  mean  that  peace  and  justice 
shall  be  the  polar  stars  of  the  American  So 
cieties. — To  J.  CORREA.  vii,  184.  FORD  ED.,  x, 
164.  (M.,  1820.) 

316. .  The  fundamental  princi 
ple  of  our  government, — never  to  entangle  us 
with  the  broils  of  Europe. — To  M.  CORAY. 
vii,  318.  (M.,  1823.) 

317. .     I    have    ever    deemed    it 

fundamental  for  the  United  States  never  to 
take  active  part  in  the  quarrels  of  Europe. 
Their  political  interests  are  entirely  distinct 
from  ours.  Their  mutual  jealousies,  their 
balance  of  power,  their  complicated  alliances, 
their  forms  and  principles  of  government,  are 
all  foreign  to  us.  They  are  nations  of  eternal 
war. — To  PRESIDENT  MONROE,  vii,  288.  FORD 
ED.,  x,  257.  (M.,  1823.) 

318.  ALLIANCE,  A  generous.— If  there 
could  have  been  a  doubt  before  as  to  the  event 
of  the  war,  it  is  now  totally  removed  by  the 
interposition  of  France,  and  the  generous  al 
liance  she  has  entered  into  with  us. — To . 

i,  208.   FORD  ED.,  ii,  157.    (W.,  1778.) 

_  ALLIANCE.  The  Holy.— See  HOLY 
ALLIANCE. 

319.  ALLIANCE,  Horror  of.— We  have 
a  perfect  horror  at  everything  like  connecting 
ourselves   with  the   politics   of   Europe.— To 
WILLIAM  SHORT,    iv,  414.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  98. 
(W.,  1801.) 

320.  ALLIANCE,      Inadmissible.— The 
British  talk  of  *  *  *  a  treaty  of  commerce 
and  alliance.     If  the  object  of  the  latter  be 
honorable,  it  is  useless ;  if  dishonorable,  inad 
missible. — ToGoUVERNEUR    MORRIS.       Hi,    l82. 

FORD  ED.,  v,  224.    (N.  Y.,  1790.) 

321.  ALLIANCE,  Inevitable.— The  day 

that  France  takes  possession  of  New  Orleans 
*  *  *  seals  the  union  of  two  nations,  who, 
in  conjunction,  can  maintain  exclusive  posses 
sion  of  the  ocean.  From  that  moment,  we 
must  marry  ourselves  to  the  British  fleet  and 
nation.  We  must  turn  all  our  attention  to  a 
maritime  force  *  *  *.— To  ROBERT  R.  LIVING 
STON,  iv,  432.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  145.  (W., 
April  1802.) 

322.  ALLIANCE,    A      lost.— Were    the 
British  court  to  return  to  their  senses  in  time 
to  seize  the  little  advantage  which  still  re 
mains  within  their  reach,  from  this  quarter,  I 
judge,  that,  on  acknowledging  our  absolute 
independence  and  sovereignty,  a  commercial 
treaty  beneficial  to  them,  and  perhaps  even 
a  league  of  mutual  offence  and  defence  might, 
not  seeing  the  expense  or  consequences  of 
such  a  measure,  be  approved  by  our  people,  if 
nothing,  in  the  meantime,  done  on  your  part 
should  prevent  it.     But  they  will  continue  to 
grasp  at  their  desperate  sovereignty,  till  every 


benefit  short  of  that  is  forever  out  of  their 
reach. — To  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  i,  205. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  132.  (August  1777.) 

323.  ALLIANCE,  Suggested    French.— 

If  we  can  obtain  from  Great  Britain  reason 
able  conditions  of  commerce,  (which,  in  my 
idea,  must  forever  include  an  admission  into 
her  [West  India]  islands,)  the  first  ground 
between  these  two  nations  would  seem  to  be 
the  best.  But  if  we  can  obtain  no  equal  terms 
from  her,  perhaps  Congress  might  think  it 
prudent,  as  Holland  has  done,  to  connect  us 
unequivocally  with  France.  Holland  has  pur 
chased  the  protection  of  France.  The  price 
she  pays  is  aid  in  time  of  war.  It  is  interest 
ing  for  us  to  purchase  a  free  commerce  with 
the  French  islands.  But  whether  it  is  best  to 
pay  for  it,  by  aids  in  war,  or  by  privileges  in 
commerce,  or  not  to  purchase  it  at  all,  is  the 
question. — REPORT  TO  CONGRESS.  ix,  244. 
FORD  ED.,  iv,  130.  (P.,  1785.) 

324.  ALLIANCE,    Unwise.— I   join   you 

*  *  *  in  a  sense  of  the  necessity  of  restoring 
freedom  to  the  ocean.  But  I  doubt,  with  you, 
whether  the  United  States  ought  to  join  in 
an  armed  confederacy  for  that  purpose;  or 
rather   I    am    satisfied   they   ought   not. — To 
GEORGE  LOGAN.      FORD   ED.,    viii,    23.      (W., 
March    1801.) 

325.  ALLIANCES,    Insufficiency    of.— 

Treaties  of  alliance  are  generally  insufficient 
to  enforce  compliance  with  their  mutual  stipu 
lations. —  THE  ANAS,  ix,  88.  FORD  ED.,  i, 
157.  (1818.) 

326.  ALLIANCES,  International  Mar 
riage. — What  a  crowd  of  lessons  do  the  pres 
ent    miseries    of    Holland    teach    us!  *  *  * 
Never  to  let  a  citizen  ally  himself  with  Kings 

*  *  *.— To  JOHN  ADAMS,    ii,  283.    FORD  ED., 
iv,  455-    (P-,  1787.) 

_  ALLODIAL  TENURE.— See  LAND. 
_  ALLOY  IN  MONEY.— See  DOLLAR. 

327.  ALLSTON,  Burr  and  Washington. 
— I  send  you  Allston's  letter  for  perusal.     He 
thinks  to  get  over  this  matter  by  putting  a 
bold  face  on  it.     I  have  the  names  of  three 
persons  whose  evidence,  taken  together,  can 
fix  on  him  the  actual  endeavor  to  engage  men 
in  Burr's  enterprise. — To  ALBERT  GALLATIN. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  13.     (W.,  1807.) 

328. .     The  enclosed  copy  of  an 

affidavit  from  General  Wilkinson  authenti 
cates  the  copy  of  a  letter  from  Colonel  Burr  to 
the  General,  affirming  that  Mr.  Allston  his 
son-in-law,  is  engaged  in  the  unlawful  en 
terprises  he  is  carrying  on,  and  is  to  be  an 
actor  in  them.  *  *  *  It  is  further  well  known 
in  Washington  that  Mr.  Allston  is  an  en 
dorser  to  a  considerable  amount,  of  the  bills 
which  have  enabled  Colonel  Burr  to  prepare 
his  treasons.  Nobody  is  a  better  judge  than 
yourself  whether  any  and  what  measures  can 
be  taken  on  this  information. — To  CHARLES 
PINCKNEY.  v,  34.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  13.  (W., 
Jan.  1807.) 

_  ALLUVIUM.— See  BATTURE. 


35 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Almanacs 
America 


329.  ALMANACS,  Improvements  in.— I 

received  your  letter  on  the  publication  of  an 
Ephemeris.  I  have  long  thought  it  desirable 
that  something  of  that  kind  should  be  published 
in  the  United  States,  holding  a  middle  station 
between  the  nautical  and  the  common  popular 
almanacs.  *  *  *  What  you  propose  to  in 
sert  is  very  well  so  far ;  but  I  think  you  might 
give  it  more  of  the  character  desired  by  the 
addition  of  some  other  articles  which  would  not 
enlarge  it  more  than  a  leaf  or  two.  For  in 
stance,  the  equation  of  time  is  essential  to  the 
regulation  of  our  clocks  and  watches,  and  would 
only  add  a  narrow  column  to  your  second  page. 
The  sun's  declination  is  often  desirable  and 
would  only  add  another  narrow  column.  This 
last  would  be  the  more  useful  as  an  element 
for  obtaining  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun 
in  every  part  of  the  United  States  *  *  if 

you  would  add  a  formula  for  that  calculation. — 
To  MELATIAH  NASH,  vi,  29.  (M.,  1811.) 

330.  ALMANACS,   Value  of  Old.— But 
why,  you  will  ask,  do  I  send  you  old  almanacs, 
which    are    proverbially    useless?     Because,    in 
these  publications  have  appeared  from  time  to 
time,  some  of  the  most  precious  things  in  as 
tronomy.     I  have  searched  out  those  particular 
volumes   which    might   be   valuable   to   you   on 
this    account.     That    of    1781,    contains    De    ia 
Caille's  catalogue  of  fixed  stars  reduced  to  the 
commencement  of  that  year,  and  a  table  of  the 
aberrations    and    mutations    of    the    principal 
stars.     1784  contains  the  same  catalogue  with 
the  nebuleuses  of  Messier.     1785   contains  the 
famous  catalogue  of  Hamsteed,  with  the  posi 
tions  of  the  stars  reduced  to  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1784,  and  which  supersedes  the  use  of 
that    immense    book.     1786    gives    von    Euler's 
lunar  tables  corrected;    and  1787  the  tables  for 
the  planet  Herschel.     The  two  last  needed  not 
an  apology,  as  not  being  within  the  description 
of  old  almanacs.     *     *     *     The  volume  of  1787 
gives  you  Mayer's  catalogue  of  the  zodiacal  stars. 
To  DR.    STILES,     i,  363.     (P.,  1785.) 

—  ALMIGHTY,  The.— See  DEITY. 
_  ALMS.— See  CHARITY. 

331.  ALTERCATIONS,    Injurious.— An 
instance  of  acquiescence  on  our  part  under  a 
wrong,  rather  than  disturb  our  friendship  by 
altercations,  may  have  its  value  in  some  fu 
ture  case.— To  JOHN  JAY.    i,  603.    (P.,  1786.) 

332.  ALTERCATIONS,  Nursing.— If  the 

British  troops  should  pass  [through  our  ter 
ritory]  without  having  asked  leave,  I  should 
be  for  expressing  our  dissatisfaction  to  the 
British  Court,  and  keeping  alive  an  alterca 
tion  on  the  subject,  till  events  should  decide 
whether  it  is  most  expedient  to  accept  their 
apologies,  or  profit  of  the  aggression  as  a 
cause  of  war. — To  GENERAL  WASHINGTON. 
vii,  510.  FORD  ED.,  v,  239.  (1790.) 

—  AMALGAMATION  OF  PARTIES.— 

See  PARTIES. 

-  AMBASSADORS.— See  MINISTERS. 

333.  AMBITION,  Defeating.— The  minds 
of  the  people  at  large  should  be  illuminated, 
as  far  as  practicable,  *  *  *  that  they  may  be 
enabled  to  know  ambition  under  all  its  shapes, 
and  prompt  to  exert  their  natural  powers  to 
defeat  its  purposes. — DIFFUSION  OF  KNOWL 
EDGE  BILL.    FORD  ED.,  ii,  221.     (1779.) 


334.  AMBITION,  Eradicated.— Before  I 
ventured  to  declare  to  my  countrymen  my  de 
termination  to  retire  from  public  employment, 
I  examined  well  my  heart  to  know  whether  it 
were  thoroughly  cured  of  every  principle  of 
political   ambition,    whether  no  lurking   par 
ticle  remained  which  might  leave  me  uneasy, 
when  reduced  within  the  limits  of  mere  pri 
vate  life.     I  became  satisfied  that  every  fibre 
of  that  passion  was  thoroughly  eradicated. — 
To  JAMES  MONROE,    i,  317.    FORD  ED.,  iii,  56. 
(M.,  1782.) 

335.  AMBITION,     Family.— I     feel     no 
impulse  from  personal  ambition  to  the  office 
now  proposed  to  me,  but  on  account  of  your 
self  and  your  sister  and  those  dear  to  you. — 
To  MARY  JEFFERSON  EPPES.     D.  L.  J.  274. 
(W.,  Feb.  1801.) 

336.  AMBITION,    Government   and.— I 

have  no  ambition  to  govern  men;  no  passion 
which  would  lead  me  to  delight  to  ride  in  a 
storm. — To  EDWARD  RUTLEDGE.  iv,  152. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  94.  (M.,  1796.) 

337. .     I    have    no    ambition   to 

govern  men.  It  is  a  painful  and  thankless  of 
fice. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  iv,  154.  FORD  ED., 
vii,  98.  (M.,  1796.) 

338. .     I  have  no  inclination  to 

govern  men.  I  should  have  no  views  of  my 
own  in  doing  it ;  and  as  to  those  of  the  gov 
erned,  I  had  rather  that  their  disappointment 
(which  must  always  happen)  should  be 
pointed  to  any  other  cause,  real  or  supposed, 
than  to  myself. — To  MR.  VOLNEY.  iv,  158. 
(M.,  1797.) 

339.  AMBITION,  Lost.— The  little  spice 
of  ambition  which  I  had  in  my  younger  days 
has  long  since  evaporated,  and  I  set  still  'less 
store  by  a  posthumous  than  present  name. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON,     iv,  117.     FORD  ED.,  vii, 
10.   (M.,  April  1795.) 

340.  AMENDMENTS    TO    CONSTITU 
TION,    First.— Congress    were    to    proceed 
about  the  ist  of  June  to  propose  amendments 
to  the  new  Constitution.    The  principal  would 
be,  the  annexing  a  declaration  of  rights  to 
satisfy  the  mind  of  all  on  the  subject  of  their 
liberties. — To  WILLIAM  CARMICHAEL.    iii,  89. 
(P.,  Aug.   1789.)     See  CONSTITUTION   (FED 
ERAL.  ) 

341.  AMERICA,  Europe  and.— The  Eu 
ropean  nations  constitute  a  separate  division 
of  the  globe ;  their  treaties  make  them  part  of 
a  distinct  system ;  they  have  a  set  of  interests 
of  their  own  in  which  it  is  our  business  never 
to  engage  ourselves.     America  has  a  hemi 
sphere  to  itself.     It  must  have  its  separate 
system  of  interests,  which  must  not  be  sub 
ordinated  to  those  of  Europe.    The  insulated 
state  in  which  nature  has  placed  the  American 
continent,  should  so  far  avail  it  that  no  spark 
of  war  kindled  in  the  other  quarters  of  the 
globe  should  be  wafted  across  the  wide  oceans 
which  separate  us  from  them.    And  it  will  be 
so. — To    BARON    VON    HUMBOLDT.      vi,    268. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  431.  (Dec.  1813.)     See  CANADA, 
COLONIES.    SOUTH  AMERICA,   UNITED  STATES. 


America 
Ancestry 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


342. .     Nothing  is  so  important 

as  that  America  shall  separate  herself  from 
the  systems  of  Europe,  and  establish  one  of 
her  own.  Our  circumstances,  our  pursuits, 
our  interests,  are  distinct;  the  principles  of 
our  policy  should  be  so  also.  All  entangle 
ments  with  that  quarter  of  the  globe  should 
be  avoided  if  we  mean  that  peace  and  justice 
shall  be  the  polar  stars  of  the  American  socie 
ties.  *  *  *  It  would  be  a  leading  principle 
with  me  had  I  longer  to  live. — To  J.  CORREA 
DE  SERRA.  vii,  184.  FORD  ED.,  x,  164.  (M., 
Oct.  1820.)  See  POLICY. 

343.  AMERICA,  No  Kings  nor  Emper 
ors  for. — I  rejoice  to  learn  that  Iturbide  is  a 
mere  usurper,  and  slenderly  supported.    Al 
though  we  have  no  right  to  intermeddle  with 
the  form  of  government  of  other  nations,  yet 
it  is  lawful  to  wish  to  see  no  emperors  nor 
kings  in  our  hemisphere,  and  that  Brazil  as 
well  as  Mexico  will  homologize  with  us. — To 
JAMES  MONROE.    FORD  ED.,  x,  244. 

—  AMERICA,  South.— See  SOUTH  AMER 
ICA. 

—  AMERICA,    A    Summary    View    of 
the  Rights  of  British  America.— See  AP 
PENDIX. 

—  AMERICAN     REVOLUTION.— See 
REVOLUTION. 

344.  AMERICUS    VESPUCCIUS,    Pic 
ture  of. — I  have  sent  to  Florence  for  pictures 
of   Columbus    (if  it  exists),   of  Americus  Ves- 
puccius,  Magellan,  &c. — To  WILLIAM  S.  SMITH. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  2.     (P.,  1788.) 

345.  ANARCHY,    Averted.— Much    has 
been  gained  by  the  new  [Federal]   Constitu 
tion,  for  the  former  was  terminating  in  an 
archy,    as    necessarily    consequent   to    ineffi 
ciency. — To  GEORGE  MASON,    iii,    148.    FORD 
ED.,  v,  183.    (N.  Y.,  1790.) 

346.  ANARCHY,      Fatal.— Our     falling 
into  anarchy  would  decide  forever  the  desti 
nies  of  mankind,  and  seal  the  political  heresy 
that  man  is  incapable  of  self-government. — 
To  JOHN  HOLLINS.   v,  597.    (M.,  1811.) 

347.  ANARCHY,    Imputed.— From    the 
London   gazettes    and    the    papers    copying 
them,    you    are   led   to    suppose   that   all    in 
America  is  anarchy,  discontent  and  civil  war. 
Nothing,  however,  is  less  true.  There  are  not 
on  the  face  of  the  earth  more  tranquil  gov 
ernments  than  ours,  nor  a  happier  and  more 
contented   people.— To    BARON    GEISMER.     i, 
427.     (R,  1785.) 

348. .     Wonderful  is  the  effect  of 

impudent  and  persevering  lying.  The  Brit 
ish  ministry  have  so  long  hired  their  gazet 
teers  to  repeat,  and  model  into  every  form, 
lies  about  our  being  in  anarchy,  that  the 
world  has  at  length  believed  them,  *  *  * 
and  what  is  more  wonderful,  we  have  be 
lieved  them  ourselves.  Yet  where  does  this 
anarchy  exist?  Where  did  it  ever  exist,  ex 
cept  in  the  single  instance  of  Massachusetts? 
And  can  history  produce  one  instance  of 
rebellion  so  honorably  conducted? — To  W.  S. 
SMITH,  ii,  318.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  466.  (P.,  1787.) 


349.  ANARCHY,  Suppress.— Let  this  be 
the  distinctive  mark  of  an  American  that,  in 
cases  of  commotion,  he  enlists  himself  under 
no  man's  banner,  inquires  for  no  man's  name, 
but  repairs  to  the  standard  of  the  laws.    Do 
this  and  you  need  never    fear    anarchy    or 
tyranny.     Your   government   will   be   perpet 
ual— FROM  JEFFERSON'S  Mss.    FORD  ED.,  viii, 
i.    (1801?) 

350.  ANATOMY,     Knowledge     of.— No 

knowledge  can  be  more  satisfactory  to  a  man 
than  that  of  his  own  frame,  its  parts,  their 
functions  and  actions. — To  THOMAS  COOPER. 
vi,  390.  (M.,  1814.) 

351. .     I  have  just  received  *  *  * 

two  volumes  of  Comparative  Anatomy  by 
Cuvier,  probably  the  greatest  work  in  that  line 
that  has  ever  appeared.  His  comparisons  em 
brace  every  organ  of  the  animal  carcass ;  and 
from  man  to  the  rotifer. — To  DR.  BENJAMIN 
RUSH,  iv,  385.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  33.  (W.,  1801.) 

352.  ANCESTORS,  Practices   of.— I   am 

not  bigotted  to  the  practices  of  our  fore 
fathers.  It  is  that  bigotry  which  keeps  the 
Indians  in  a  state  of  barbarism  in  the  midst 
ot  the  arts,  would  have  kept  us  in  the  same 
state  even  now,  and  still  keeps  Connecticut 
where  their  ancestors  were  when  they  landed 
on  these  shores. — To  ROBERT  FULTON,  v,  516. 
(M.,  1810.) 

353.  ANCESTORS,     Regimen     of.— We 

might  as  well  require  a  man  to  wear  still  the 
coat  which  fitted  him  when  a  boy,  as  civil 
ized  society  to  remain  ever  under  the  regimen 
of  their  barbarous  ancestors. — To  SAMUEL 
KERCHIVAL.  vii,  15.  FORD  ED.,  x,  43.  (M., 
1816.) 

354.  ANCESTRY,     Equality     vs.— The 

foundation  on  which  all  [our  constitutions] 
are  built,  is  the  natural  equality  of  man,  the 
denial  of  every  pre-eminence  but  that  an 
nexed  to  legal  office  and,  particularly,  the  de 
nial  of  a  pre-eminence  by  birth. — To  GENERAL 
WASHINGTON,  i,  334.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  466.  (A., 
1784.) 

355.  ANCESTRY,   Thomas  Jefferson's. 
— The  tradition  in  my  father's  family  was  that 
their  ancestor  came  to  this  country  from  Wales, 
and  from  near  the  mountain  of  Snowdon,  the 
highest  in  Great  Britain.     I  noted  once  a  case 
from  Wales,  in  the  law  reports,  where  a  person 
of  our  name  was  either  plaintiff  or  defendant ; 
and  one  of  the  same  name  was  secretary  to  the 
Virginia    Company.*     These    are    the    only    in 
stances  in  which  I  have  met  with  the  name  in 
that    country.     I    have    found    it   in    our    early 
records ;    but  the  first  particular  information  I 
have  of  any  ancestor  was  of  my  grandfather, 
who   lived   at   the   place   in   Chesterfield   called 
Ozborne's,  and  owned  the  lands  afterwards  the 
glebe    of    the    parish.     He    had    three    sons : 
Thomas  who  died  young,  Field  who  settled  on 
the  waters  of  Roanoke  and  left  numerous  de 
scendants,  and  Peter,  my  father,  who  settled  on 
the  lands  I  still  own,  called  Shadwell,  adjoining 
my  present  residence.     He  was  born  February 

*  No  Jefferson  was  ever  Secretary  of  the  Virginia 
Company,  but  John  Jefferson  was  a  member  of  the 
Company.  He  came  to  Virginia  in  the  Bona  Nova, 
in  1619.— NOTE  IN  FORD'S  EDITION  OF  JEFFERSON'S 
WRITINGS. 


37 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Angels 
Animosities 


29,  1707-8,  and  intermarried  1739.  with  Jane 
Randolph,  of  the  age  of  19,  daughter  of  Isham 
Randolph,  one  of  the  seven  sons  of  that  name 
and  family,  settled  at  Dungeoness  in  Gooch- 
land.  They  trace  their  pedigree  far  back  in 
England  and  Scotland,  to  which  let  every  one 
ascribe  the  faith  and  merit  he  chooses. — AUTO 
BIOGRAPHY,  i,  i.  FORD  ED.,  i,  i.  (1831.) 

356.  ANGELS,  Kings  as.-— Have  we 
found  angels  in  the  form  of  kings  to  govern 
him?— FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS,  viii,  3. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  3.  (1801.) 

857.  ANGEB,  Control  over.— When  an 
gry,  count  ten  before  you  speak;  if  very  an 
gry,  an  hundred. — To  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 
SMITH,  vii,  402.  FORD  ED.,  x,  341.  (M.,  1825.) 

358.  ANGLOMANIA,      Danger      in.— I 

fear  nothing  for  our  liberty  from  the  assaults 
of  force ;  but  I  have  seen  and  felt  much,  and 
fear  more  from  English  books,  English  preju 
dices,  English  manners,  and  the  apes,  the 
dupes,  and  designs  among  our  professional 
crafts.  When  I  look  around  me  for  security 
against  these  seductions,  I  find  it  in  the  wide 
spread  of  our  agricultural  citizens,  in  their 
unsophisticated  minds,  their  independence 
and  their  power,  if  called  on,  to  crush  the 
Humists  [Tories]  of  our  cities,  and  to  main 
tain  the  principles  which  severed  us  from 
England. — To  HORATIO  G.  SPAFFORD.  vi,  335. 
(M.,  1814.) 

359.  ANGLOMANIA,     Eradicate.— The 

eradication  of  English  partialities  is  one  of 
the  most  consoling  expectations  from  the  war. 
— To  WILLIAM  DUANE.  vi,  76.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
366.  (M.,  Aug.  1812.) 

360.  ANGLOMANIA,     Politics     and.— 

The  Anglicism  of  1808,  against  which  we  are 
now  struggling,  is  but  the  same  thing  [as  the 
Toryism  of  1777  and  the  Federalism  of  1799] 
in  still  another  form.  It  is  a  longing  for  a 
king,  and  an  English  King  rather  than  any 
other. — To  JOHN  LANGDON.  v,  512.  (M., 
1810.) 

361. .     Anglomany,       monarchy, 

and  separation  are  the  principles  of  the  Es 
sex  federalists.  Anglomany  and  monarchy, 
those  of  the  Hamiltonians,  and  Anglomany 
alone,  that  of  the  portion  of  the  people  who 
call  themselves  federalists.— To  JOHN  MEL- 
ISH.  vi,  96.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  375.  (M.,  1813.) 

362.  ANGLOMANIA,  Servile.— I  wish 
any  events  could  induce  us  to  cease  to  copy 
such  a  model,  [the  British  government,]  and 
to  assume  the  dignity  of  being  original.  They 
had  their  paper  system,  stockjobbing,  specu 
lations,  public  debt,  moneyed  interest,  &c., 
and  all  this  was  contrived  for  us.  They 
raised  their  cry  against  jacobinism  and  revo 
lutionists,  we  against  democratic  societies  and 
anti-federalists ;  their  alarmists  sounded  in 
surrection,  ours  marched  an  army  to  look  for 
one,  but  they  could  not  find  it.  I  wish  the  par 
allel  may  stop  here,  and  that  we  may  avoid, 
instead  of  imitating,  a  general  bankruptcy 
and  disastrous  war. — To  HORATIO  GATES,  iv, 
178.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  130.  (Pa.,  1797.) 


363.  ANGLOPHOBIA,     Washington's 
Cabinet  and.— The  Anglophobia  has  seized 
violently  on  three  members  of  our  council. 
This  sets  almost  every  day  on  questions  of 
neutrality.     *     *     *     Everything  hangs  upon 
the    opinion    of    a    single   person     [Edmund 
Randolph],  and  that  the  most  indecisive  one 
I  ever  had  to  do  business  with.    He  always 
contrives  to  agree  in  principle  with  one  but 
in  conclusion  with  the  other.    Anglophobia, 
secret  Anti-Gallomany,  a    federalisme  outree 
and  a  present  ease  in  his  circumstances  not 
usual,   have   decided  the   complexion  of  our 
dispositions,  and  our  proceedings  towards  the 
conspirators  against  human  liberty,   and  the 
asserters  of  it,  which  is  unjustifiable  in  prin 
ciple,  in  interest,  and  in  respect  to  the  wishes 
of  our  constituents. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  iii, 
556.    FORD  ED.,  vi,  250.    (May  1793.) 

ANGLO-SAXON          LANGUAGE.— See 

LANGUAGES. 

—  ANIMALS,  Do  they  Degenerate  in 
America  P — See  BUFFON. 

364.  ANIMOSITIES,    Individual.— The 

great  cause  which  divides  our  countries  is 
not  to  be  decided  by  individual  animosities. 
The  harmony  of  private  societies  cannot 
weaken  national  efforts.  To  contribute  by 
neighborly  intercourse  and  attention  to  make 
others  happy,  is  the  shortest  and  surest  way 
of  being  happy  ourselves.  As  these  senti 
ments  seem  to  have  directed  your  conduct, 
we  should  be  as  unwise  as  illiberal,  were  we 
not  to  preserve  the  same  temper  of  mind. — 
To  GEN.  WILLIAM  PHILLIPS.  D.  L.  JM  53. 
(I779-) 

865.    ANIMOSITIES,       National.— The 

animosities  of  sovereigns  are  temporary,  and 
may  be  allayed;  but  those  which  seize  the 
whole  body  of  a  people,  and  of  a  people,  too, 
who  dictate  their  own  measures,  produce  ca 
lamities  of  long  duration.* — To  C.  W.  F. 
DUMAS,  i,  553.  (P.,  1786.) 

366.   ANIMOSITIES,     Political.— Party 

animosities  here  have  raised  a  wall  of  separa 
tion  between  those  who  differ  in  political  sen 
timents.  They  must  love  misery  indeed  who 
would  rather,  at  the  sight  of  an  honest  man, 
feel  the  torment  of  hatred  and  aversion  than 
the  benign  spasms  of  benevolence  and  esteem. 
—To  MRS.  CHURCH.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  116.  (Pa., 
Oct.  1792.) 

367. .  While  I  cherish  with  feel 
ing  the  recollections  of  my  friends,  I  banish 
from  my  mind  all  political  animosities  which 
might  disturb  its  tranquillity,  or  the  happi 
ness  I  derive  from  my  present  pursuits. — To 
WILLIAM  DUANE.  v,  532.  (M.,  1810.) 

368.  ANIMOSITIES,  Rekindling.— 
Peace  with  all  the  world,  and  a  quiet  descent 
through  the  remainder  of  my  time,  are  now 
so  necessary  to  my  happiness  that  I  am  un 
willing,  by  the  expression  of  any  opinion  be 
fore  the  public,  to  rekindle  ancient  animosi- 

*  Jefferson  was  describing  the  "  hatred  "  of  Amer 
ica  by  the  English  people.— EDITOR. 


Annapolis 
Anti-Federalists 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


ties,  covered  under  their  ashes  indeed,  but 
not  extinguished. — To  GEORGE  HAY.  FORD  ED., 
x,  265.  (M.,  1823.) 

_  ANNAPOLIS       (FEDERAL)      CON 
VENTION.— See  CONVENTION. 
—  ANNEXATION     OF     TERRITORY. 

— See  TERRITORY. 

369.  ANNUITIES,  Government  Loans 
and. — Annuities  for  single  lives  are  also  be 
yond  our  powers,  because  the  single  life  may 
pass  the  term  of  a  generation.    This  last  prac 
tice  is  objectionable  too,  as  encouraging  ce 
libacy,  and  the  disinherison  of  heirs. — To  J. 
W.  EPPES.  vi,  198.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  397..    (P.  F., 
1813.)     See  GENERATIONS. 

370.  ANONYMOUS  WRITING,  News 
paper. — I  never  did  in  my  life,  either  by  my 
self  or  by  any  other,  have  a  sentence  of  mine 
inserted  in  a  newspaper  without  putting  my 
name  to  it ;  and  I  believe  I  never  shall. — To 
JOHN  ADAMS,   iii,  272.   FORD  ED.,  v,  35*5.    (Pa., 
1791.) 

371.  ANTI-FEDERALISTS,     Jefferson 
and. — You  say  that  I  have  been  dished  up  to 
you  as  an  anti-federalist,  and  ask  me  if  it  be 
just.    My  opinion  was  never  worthy  enough 
of  notice  to  merit  citing;  but  since  you  ask 
it,  I  will  tell  it  to  you.    I  am  not  a  federalist, 
because  I  never,  submitted  the  whole  system 
of  my  opinions  to  the  creed  of  any  party  of 
men  whatever,  in  religion,  in  philosophy,  in 
politics,  or  in  anything  else,  where  I  was  ca 
pable  of  thinking  for  myself.     Such  an  ad 
diction  is  the  last  degradation  of  a  free  and 
moral  agent.    If  I  could  not  go  to  heaven  but 
with  a  party,  I  would    not    go    there  at  all. 
Therefore,  I  am  not  of  the  party  of  federal 
ists.   But  I  am  much  farther  from  that  of  the 
anti-federalists.     I    approved    from   the   first 
moment  of  the  great  mass  of  what  is  in  the 
new   Constitution;   the  consolidation   of  the 
government ;  the  organization  into  executive, 
legislative  and  judiciary;  the  subdivision  of 
the  legislative;  the  happy  compromise  of  in 
terests  between  the  great  and  little  States,  by 
the  different  manner  of  voting  in  the  different 
Houses;   the  voting  by  persons    instead    of 
States ;  the  qualified  negative  on  laws  given  to 
the  Executive,  which,  however,  I  should  have 
liked  better  if  associated  with  the  judiciary 
also,  as  in  New  York ;  and  the  power  of  taxa 
tion.    I  thought  at  first  that  the  latter  might 
have  been  limited.  A  little  reflection  soon  con 
vinced  me  it  ought  not  to  be.    What  I  disap 
proved  from  the  first  moment  also,  was  the 
want  of  a  bill  of  rights,    to    guard    liberty 
against  the  legislative  as  well  as  the  execu 
tive  branches  of  the  government ;  that  is  to 
say,  to  secure  freedom  in  religion,  freedom  of 
the  press,  freedom  from  monopolies,  freedom 
from  unlawful  imprisonment,  freedom  from 
a  permanent  military,  and  a  trial  by  jury  in 
all  cases  determinable  by  the  laws  of  the  land. 
I  disapproved  also  the  perpetual  re-eligibility 
of  the  President.    To  these  points  of  disap 
probation  I  adhere.    My  first  wish  was  that 
the  nine  first  conventions  might  accept   the 
Constitution,  as  the  means  of  securing  to  us 


the  great  mass  of  good  it  contained,  and  that 
the  four  last  might  reject  it,  as  the  means  of 
obtaining  amendments.  But  I  was  corrected 
in  this  wish  the  moment  I  saw  the  much  bet 
ter  plan  of  Massachusetts,  and  which  had 
never  occurred  to  me.  With  respect  to  the 
declaration  of  rights,  I  suppose  the  majority 
of  the  United  States  are  of  my  opinion;  for 
I  apprehend  all  the  anti-federalists  and  a  very 
respectable  proportion  of  the  federalists  think 
that  such  a  declaration  should  now  be 
annexed.  The  enlightened  part  of  Europe 
have  given  us  the  greatest  credit  for  in 
venting  this  instrument  of  security  for 
the  rights  of  the  people,  and  have  been 
not  a  little  surprised  to  see  us  so  soon 
give  it  up.  With  respect  to  the  re- 
eligibility  of  the  President,  I  find  myself  dif 
fering  from  the  majority  of  my  countrymen; 
for  I  think  there  are  but  three  States  out  of 
the  eleven  which  have  desired  an  alteration  of 
this.  And,  indeed,  since  the  thing  is  estab 
lished,  I  would  wish  it  not  to  be  altered  dur 
ing  the  life  of  our  great  leader,  whose  execu 
tive  talents  are  superior  to  those,  I  believe, 
of  any  man  in  the  world,  and  who,  alone,  by 
the  authority  of  his  name  and  the  confidence 
reposed  in  his  perfect  integrity,  is  fully  quali 
fied  to  put  the  new  government  so  under  way, 
as  to  secure  it  against  the  efforts  of  opposi 
tion.  But,  having  derived  from  our  error  all 
the  good  there  was  in  it,  I  hope  we  shall  cor 
rect  it,  the  moment  we  can  no  longer  have 
the  same  name  at  the  helm.  These  are  my 
sentiments,  by  which  you  will  see  I  was  right 
in  saying  I  am  neither  federalist  nor  anti- 
federalist  ;  that  I  am  of  neither  party,  nor 
yet  a  trimmer  between  parties.  These,  my 
opinions,  I  wrote  within  a  few  hours  after  I 
had  read  the  Constitution,  to  one  or  two 
friends  in  America.  I  had  not  then  read  one 
single  word  printed  on  the  subject.  I  never 
had  an  opinion  in  politics  or  religion  which  I 
was  afraid  to  own.  A  costive  reserve  on  these 
subjects  might  have  procured  me  more  esteem 
from  some  people,  but  less  from  myself.  My 
great  wish  is  to  go  on  in  a  strict  but  silent 
performance  of  my  duty;  to  avoid  attracting 
notice,  and  to  keep  my  name  out  of  newspa 
pers,  because  I  find  the  pain  of  a  little  cen 
sure,  even  when  it  is  unfounded,  is  more 
acute  than  the  pleasure  of  much  praise.  The 
attaching  circumstance  of  my  present  office 
[Minister]  is  that  I  can  do  its  duties  unseen 
by  those  for  whom  they  are  done. — To  F. 
HOPKINSON.  ii,  585.  FORD  ED.,  v,  75.  (P., 
March  13, 1789.) 

372.  ANTI-FEDERALISTS,       Malevo 
lence  of. — Anti-federalism  is  not  yet  dead  in 
this   country.    The   gentlemen    who   opposed 
the  new  Constitution  retain  a  good  deal  of 
malevolence    towards    the    new    government. 
Henry    is    its    avowed    foe. — To    WILLIAM 
SHORT.    FORD  ED.,  v,  136.    (Ep.,  Dec.  1789.) 

373.  ANTI-FEDERALISTS,  Over 
thrown. — The  opposition  to  our  new   Con 
stitution     has     almost     totally     disappeared. 
Some  few  indeed  had  gone  such  lengths  in 
their  declarations  of  hostility  that  they  feel  it 


39 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Antiquities 
Apportionment  Ratio 


awkward  perhaps  to  come  over;  but  the 
amendments  proposed  by  Congress  have 
brought  over  almost  all  their  followers.  *  *  * 
The  little  vautrien,  Rhode  Island,  will  come 
over  with  a  little  more  time. — To  MARQUIS 
LAFAYETTE,  iii,  132.  FORD  ED.,  v,  152.  (N.  Y., 
April  1790.) 

374.  ANTIQUITIES,  American.— I  thank 
you  for  the  extract  of  the  letter     *     *     *     on 
the   antiquities   found   in   the   western   country. 
I  wish  that  the  persons  who  go  thither  would 
make  very  exact  descriptions  of  what  they  see 
of  that  kind,  without  forming  any  theories.  The 
moment  a  person  forms  a  theory,  his  imagina 
tion  sees,  in  every  object,  only  the  traits  which 
favor  that  theory.     But  it  is  too  early  to  form 
theories   on   those   antiquities.     We   must   wait 
with  patience  till  more   facts   are  collected.     I 
wish   your   Philosophical   Society  would   collect 
exact  descriptions  of  the  several  monuments  as 
yet    known,    and    insert    them    naked    in    their 
Transactions.     Patience    and    observation    may 
enable  us  in  time,  to  solve  the  problem,  whether 
those  who  formed  the  scattering  monuments  in 
our    western    country,    were    colonies    sent    off 
from  Mexico,  or  the  founders  of  Mexico  itself? 
Whether    both    were    the    descendants    or    the 
progenitors     of     the     Asiatic     red     men. — To 
CHARLES  THOMSON,     ii,  276.     (Pa.,   1787.) 

375.  ANTIQUITIES,       Roman.— From 
Lyons  to   Nismes   I   have  been   nourished  with 
the  remains  of  Roman  grandeur.     *     *     *    At 
Vienne,   the   Praetorian   Palace,   as   it   is   called, 
comparable,    for    its    fine    proportions,    to    the 
Maison  quarree,  defaced  by  the  barbarians  who 
have    converted    it   to    its   present   purpose,    its 
beautiful  fluted  Corinthian  columns  cut  out,  in 
part,   to   make  space   for  Gothic  windows,   and 
hewed  down,  in  the  residue,  to  the  plane  of  the 
building,  was  enough     *     *     *     to  disturb  my 
composure.   At  Orange,  I  thought  of  you.   I  was 
sure  you   had   seen   with   pleasure   the   sublime 
triumphal  arch  of  Marius  at  the  entrance  of  the 
city.     I  went  then  to  the  Arenae.    Would  you  be 
lieve  that  in  this  eighteenth  century,  in  France,, 
under    the    reign    of    Louis    XVI.,  they    are    at 
this  moment  pulling  down  the  circular  wall  of 
this  superb  remain,  to  pave  a  road  ?     And  that, 
too,  from  a  hill  which  is  itself  an  entire  mass  of 
stone,  just  as  fit,  and  more  accessible.     *     *     * 
I  thought  of  you  again     *     *     *     at  the  Pont 
du    Card,    a    sublime    antiquity,    and    well-pre 
served ;    but  most  of  all  here  [Nismes],  whose 
Roman    taste,    genius    and    magnificence   excite 
ideas   analogous  to  yours  at  every   step.  *  *   * 
You  will  not  expect  news.     Were  I  to  attempt 
to  give  it,  I  should  tell  you  stories  one  thousand 
years  old.     I  should  detail  to  you  the  intrigues 
of  the  courts  of  the  Caesars,  how  they  affect  us 
here,  the  oppressions  of  their  praetors,  prefects, 
&c.     I  am  immersed  in  antiquities  from  morn 
ing   to    night.     For   me,    the    city    of    Rome    is 
actually  existing  in  all  the  splendor  of  its  em 
pire.     I  am  filled  with  alarms  for  the  event  of 
the  irruptions  darly  mak'ng  on  us,  by  the  Goths, 
the    Visigoths,    Ostrogoths,    and    Vandals,    lest 
they  should  reconquer  us  to   our  original  bar 
barism. — To  LA  COMTESSE  DE  TESSE.     ii,  132. 
(N.,  1787.) 

_  ANTOINETTE,  MARIE.— See  MARIE 
ANTOINETTE. 

376.  APOSTASY,   Defined.— It  is  to  be 
considered    as    apostasy     only    when       they 
[schismatizing     republicans]      purchase     the 
votes   of   federalists   with   a   participation   in 
honor  and  power. — To  THOMAS  COOPER,    v, 
121.   FORD  ED.,  ix,  102.    (W.,  1807.) 


377.  APOSTASY,  Punished.— As  to  the 

effect  of  Mr.  [Patrick]  Henry's  name  among 
the  people,  I  have  found  it  crumble  like  a 
dried  leaf,  the  moment  they  became  satisfied 
of  his  apostasy. — To  TENCH  COXE.  FORD  ED., 
vii,  381.  (M.,  1799.) 

378.  APPLAUSE,    Courting.— I   am   not 

reconciled  to  the  idea  of  a  Chief  Magistrate 
parading  himself  through  the  several  States, 
as  an  object  of  public  gaze,  and  in  quest  of 
applause  which,  to  be  valuable,  should  be 
purely  voluntary.  1  had  rather  acquire  silent 
good  will  by  a  faithful  discharge  of  my  du 
ties,  than  owe  expressions  of  it  to  my  putting 
myself  in  the  way  of  receiving  them. — To 
JAMES  SULLIVAN,  v,  102.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  77. 
(W.,  1807.) 

379.  APPLAUSE,   Deserve.— Go  on  de 
serving  applause,   and   you   will   be   sure   to 
meet  with  it :  and  the  way  to  deserve  it  is  to 
be  good,  and  to  be  industrious. — To  J.   W. 
EPPES.    ii,  192.    (P.,  1787.) 

380.  APPOINTMENT,  The  Power  of.— 

The  Constitution,  having  declared  that  the 
President  shall  nominate  and,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall 
appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers, 
and  consuls  *  *  *  has  taken  care  to  cir 
cumscribe  this  [power]  within  very  strict 
limits :  for  it  gives  the  nomination  of  the  for 
eign  agents  to  the  President,  the  appoint 
ments  to  him  and  the  Senate  jointly,  and  the 
commissioning  to  the  President.  This  analy 
sis  calls  our  attention  to  the  strict  import  of 
each  term.  To  nominate  must  be  to  propose. 
Appointment  seems  that  act  of  the  will  which 
constitutes  or  makes  the  agent,  and  the  com 
mission  is  the  public  evidence  of  it. — OPINION 
ON  POWERS  OF  SENATE,  vii,  465.  FORD  ED., 
v,  161.  (1790.) 

—  APPOINTMENTS  TO  OFFICE.— See 

OFFICE. 

381.  APPOBTIONMENT,     Basis     of.— 

The  number  of  Representatives  for  each 
county,  or  borough,  shall  be  so  proportioned 
to  the  number  of  its  qualified  electors,  that 
the  whole  number  of  representatives  shall  not 
exceed  300,  nor  be  less  than  125.  For  the 
present  there  shall  be  one  representative  for 
every — qualified  electors  in  each  county  or 
borough;  but  whenever  this,  or  any  future 
proportion,  shall  be  likely  to  exceed  or  fall 
short  of  the  limits  before  mentioned,  it  shall 
be  again  adjusted  by  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives. — PROPOSED  VA.  CONSTITUTION. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  15.  (June  1776.) 

382.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO,  Arbi 
trary. — If  the  [ratio  of]   representation  [is] 
obtained  by  any  process  not  prescribed  in  the 
Constitution,  it  becomes  arbitrary  and  inad 
missible. — OPINION  ON  APPORTIONMENT  BILL. 
vii,  595-    FORD  ED.,  v,  494.     (1792.) 

383.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO,  Com 
mon.— The    Constitution    has    declared    that 
representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  ap 
portioned  among  the  several  States  according 
to  their  respective  numbers.     *    *    *    That 


Apportionment  Ratio          THE  JEFFERSONIAN   CYCLOPEDIA 


40 


is  to  say.  they  shall  be  apportioned  by  some 
common  ratio — for  proportion  and  ratio  are 
equivalent  words ;  and  in  the  definition  of 
proportion  among  numbers,  that  they  have  a 
ratio  common  to  all,  or  in  other  words,  a 
common  divisor. — OPINION  ON  APPORTION 
MENT  BILL,  vii,  594.  FORD  ED.,  v,  493.  (April 
1792.) 

384.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO,  Frac 
tions  and.— It  will  be  said  that,  though,  for 
taxes  there  may  always  be  found  a  divisor 
which  will  apportion  them  among  the  States 
according  to  numbers  exactly,  without  leav 
ing  any  remainder,  yet,   for  representatives, 
there  can  be  no  such  common  ratio,  or  di 
visor,  which,  applied  to  the  several  numbers, 
will  divide  them  exactly,  without  a  remainder 
or  fraction.    I  answer,  then,  that  taxes  must 
be   divided    exactly,   and    representatives    as 
nearly  as  the  nearest  ratio  will  admit;  and 
the  fractions  must  be  neglected,  because  the 
Constitution  calls  absolutely  that  there  be  an 
apportionment  or  common  ratio,  and  if  any 
fractions  result  from  the  operation,  it  has  left 
them  unprovided  for.    In  fact  it  could  not  but 
foresee  that  such  fractions  would  result,  and 
it  meant  to  submit  to  them.     It  knew  they 
would  be  in  favor  of  one  part  of  the  Union  at 
one  time,  and  of  another  at  another,  so  as, 
in  the  end,  to  balance  occasional  irregularities. 
— OPINION  ON  APPORTIONMENT  BILL,   vii,  596. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  495.    ,(1792.) 

385.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO,  Near 
est  Common. — The  phrase  [of  the  Constitu 
tion]    that   "  the   number   of   representatives 
shall    not    exceed    one    for    every   30,000," 
is    violated    by    this    bill    which    has    given 
to    eight     States    a  number    exceeding   one 
for    every,  30,000,    to    wit,     one    for    every 
27.770.     In     answer     to     this,     it     is     said 
that     this     phrase     may     mean     either    the 
30,000   in   each    State,    or   the  30,000  in  the 
whole  Union,  and  that  in  the  latter  case  it 
serves  only  to  find  the  amount  of  the  whole 
representation ;  which,  in  the  present  state  of 
population,    is    120    members.     Suppose    the 
phrase  might  bear  both  meanings,  which  will 
common  sense  apply  to  it?    Which  did  the 
universal  understanding  of  our  country  apply 
to  it?  Which  did  the  Senate  and  Representa 
tives  apply  to  it  during  the  pendency  of  the 
first  bill,  and  even  till  an  advanced  stage  of 
this  second  bill,  when  an  ingenious  gentleman 
found  out  the  doctrine  of  fractions,  a  doctrine 
so  difficult  and  inobvious,  as  to  be  rejected  at 
first  sight  by  the  very  persons  who  afterwards 
became    its    most    zealous    advocates?    The 
phrase  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  number  of 
others,  every  one  of  which  relates  to  States  in 
their  separate  capacity.    Will  not  plain  com 
mon  sense,  then,  understand  it,  like  the  rest 
of  its  context,  to  relate  to  States  in  their  sep 
arate  capacities?   But  if  the  phrase  of  one  for 
30,000  is  only  meant  to  give  the  aggregate  of 
representatives,    and   not   at   all   to   influence 
their  apportionment  among  the  States,  then 
the  120  being  once  found,  in  order  to  appor 
tion  them,  we  must  recur  to  the  former  rule 
which  does   it  according  to  the  numbers  of 
the  respective  States;  and  we  must  take  the 


nearest  common  divisor,  as  the  ratio  of  dis 
tribution,  that  is  to  say,  that  divisor  which, 
applied  to  every  State,  gives  to  them  such 
numbers  as,  added  together,  come  nearest  to 
120.  This  nearest  common  ratio  will  be  found 
to  be  28,058,  and  will  distribute  119  of  the  120 
members  leaving  only  a  single  residuary  one. 
It  will  be  found,  too,  to  place  96,648  frac 
tional  numbers  in  the  eight  northernmost 
States,  and  105,582  in  the  seven  southern 
most  *  *  *  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  intention,  the  effect  of  neglecting  the 
nearest  divisor  (which  leaves  but  one  residu 
ary  member),  and  adopting  a  distant  one 
(which  leaves  eight),  is  merely  to  take  a 
member  from  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
each,  ami  give  them  to  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire.  But, it  will  be  said,  this  is  giving 
more  than  one  for  30,000.  True,  but  has  it 
not  been  just  said  that  the  one  for  30,000  is 
prescribed  only  to  fix  the  aggregate  number, 
and  that  we  are  not  to  mind  it  when  we  come 
to  apportion  them  among  the  States?  That 
for  this  we  must  recur  to  the  former  rule 
which  distributes  them  according  to  the  num 
bers  in  each  State?  Besides  does  not  the  bill 
itself  apportion  among  seven  of  the  States 
by  the  ratio  of  27,770?  which  is  much  more 
than  one  for  30,000. — OPINION  ON  APPORTION 
MENT  BILL,  vii,  597.  FORD  EDV  v,  496.  (1702.) 

386.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO,  Two 
Divisors. — Instead  of  such  a  single  common 
ratio,  or  uniform  divisor,  as  prescribed  by  the 
Constitution,  the  bill  has  applied  two  ratios, 
at  least,  to  the  different  States,  to  wit,  that 
of   30,026   to   the    seven    following:     Rhode 
Island,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Georgia ;  and  that  of 
27,770  to  the  eight  others,  namely:  Vermont, 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
New  Jersey,  Delaware,  North  Carolina,  and 
South    Carolina.     *    *    *    And    if    two    ra 
tios  be  applied,  then  fifteen  may.  and  the  dis 
tribution  become  arbitrary,  instead  of  being 
apportioned  to  numbers.    Another  member  of 
the  clause  of  the  Constitution    *    *    *     says 
"  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not  ex 
ceed  one  for  every  30,000,  but  each  State  shall 
have  at  least  one  representative."    This  last 
phrase  proves  that  it  had    no    contemplation 
that  all  fractions,  or  numbers  below  the  com 
mon  ratio  were  to  be  unrepresented;  and  it 
provides  especially  that  in  the  case  of  a  State 
whose  whole  number  shall  be  below  the  com 
mon  ratio,  one  representative  shall  be  given 
to  it.    This  is  the  single  instance  where  it  al 
lows  representation  to  any    smaller    number 
than  the  common  ratio,  and  by  providing  es 
pecially  for  it  in  this,   shows  it  was  under 
stood    that,    without    special    provision,    the 
smaller   number   would   in   this   case,   be   in 
volved  in  the  general  principle. — OPINION  ON 
APPORTIONMENT  BILL,     vii,  596.    FORD  ED.,  v, 
495.    (1792.) 

387.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO,   Sur 
plus  Members. — Where  a  phrase  is  suscepti 
ble  of  two  meanings,  we  ought  certainly  to 
adopt  that  which  will  bring  upon  us  the  few 
est  inconveniences.    Let  us   weigh  those  re 
sulting  from  both  constructions.     From  that 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Apportionment  Ratio 
Apportionment  Bill 


giving  to  each  State  a  member  for  every 
30,000  in  that  State  results  the  single  incon 
venience  that  there  may  be  large  portions  un 
represented,  but  it  being  a  mere  hazard  on 
which  State  this  will  fall,  hazard  will  equalize 
it  in  the  long  run.  From  the  others  result  ex 
actly  the  same  inconvenience.  A  thousand 
cases  may  be  imagined  to  prove  it.  Take 
one.  Suppose  eight  of  the  States  had  45,000 
inhabitants  each,  and  the  other  seven  44.999 
each,  that  is  to  say,  each  one  less  than  each  of 
the  others.  The  aggregate  would  be  674,993, 
and  the  number  of  representatives  at  one  for 
30,000  of  the  aggregate,  would  be  22.  Then, 
alter  giving  one  member  to  each  State,  dis 
tribute  the  seven  residuary  members  among 
the  seven  highest  fractions,  and  though  the 
difference  of  population  be  only  an  unit,  the 
representation  would  be  double.  *  *  * 
Here  a  single  inhabitant  the  more  would 
count  as  30,000.  Nor  is  this  case  imaginable 
only,  it  will  resemble  the  real  one  whenever 
the  fractions  happen  to  be  pretty  equal 
through  the  whole  States.  The  numbers  of 
our  census  happen  by  accident  to  give  the 
fractions  all  very  small,  or  very  great,  so  as 
to  produce  the  strongest  case  of  inequality 
that  could  possibly  have  occurred,  and  which 
may  never  occur  again.  The  probability  is 
that  the  fractions  will  descend  gradually 
from  29,999  to  i.  The  inconvenience,  then, 
of  large  unrepresented  fractions  attends  both 
constructions ;  and  while  the  most  obvious 
construction  is  liable  to  no  other,  that  of  the 
bill  incurs  many  and  grievous  ones.  i.  If 
you  permit  the  large  fraction  in  one  State  to 
choose  a  representative  for  one  of  the  small 
fractions  in  another  State,  you  take  from  the 
latter  its  election,  which  constitutes  real  rep 
resentation,  and  substitute  a  virtual  represen 
tation  of  the  disfranchised  fractions.  *  *  * 
2.  The  bill  does  not  say  that  it  has  given  the 
residuary  representatives  to  the  greatest  frac 
tion:  though  in  fact  it  has  done  so.  It  seems 
to  have  avoided  establishing  that  into  a  rule, 
lest  it  might  not  suit  on  another  occasion. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  found  the  next  time  more 
convenient  to  distribute  them  among  the 
smaller  States;  at  another  time  among  the 
larger  States;  at  other  times  according  to  any 
other  crotchet  which  ingenuity  may  invent, 
and  the  combinations  of  the  day  give  strength 
to  carry ;  or  they  may  do  it  arbitrarily  by  open 
bargains  and  cabal.  In  short,  this  construction 
introduces  into  Congress  a  scramble,  or  a 
vendue  for  the  surplus  members.  It  gener 
ates  waste  of  time,  hot  blood,  and  may  at 
some  time,  when  the  passions  are  high,  ex 
tend  a  disagreement  between  the  two  Houses, 
to  the  perpetual  loss  of  the  thing,  as  happens 
now  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  ;  whereas 
the  other  construction  reduces  the  apportion 
ment  always  to  an  arithmetical  operation, 
about  which  no  two  men  can  ever  possibly 
differ.  3.  It  leaves  in  full  force  the  violation 
of  the  precept  which  declares  that  representa 
tives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  States 
according  to  their  numbers  i.  e.,  by  some  com 
mon  ratio. — OPINION  ON  APPORTIONMENT 
BILL,  vii,  599.  FORD  ED.,  v,  498.  (1792.) 


388.  APPORTIONMENT  RATIO, 

Tricks  in. — No  invasions  of  the  Constitution 
are  fundamentally  so  dangerous  as  the  tricks 
played  on  their  own  numbers,  apportionment, 
and  other  circumstances  respecting  them 
selves,  and  affecting  their  legal  qualifica 
tions  to  legislate  for  the  Union. — OPINION  ON 
APPORTIONMENT  BILL,  vii,  601.  FORD  ED.,  v, 
500.  (1792.) 

389.  APPORTIONMENT   BILL,    Oppo 
sition  to. — The  ground  of  the  opposition  to 
the    apportionment    bill    has    been    founded    on 
the    discovery    that    the    ratio    of    30,000    gave 
smaller   fractions   to   the   southern   than   to   the 
eastern    States,    and   to   prevent   this   a   variety 
of  propositions  have  been  made,  among  which 
is  the  following :     To  apply  the  ratio  of  30,000 
to  the  aggregate  population  of  the  Union    (not 
that  of  the  individual  States)   which  will  give 
120  members,   and  then   apportion  those  mem 
bers    among    the    several    States    by    as    many 
different  ratios  as  there  are  States  ;    or  to  the 
population  of  each   State,  giving  them  one  for 
every  30,000  as   far  as  it  will  go,  making   112, 
and  then  distribute  the  remaining  eight  members 
among  those  States  having  the  highest  fractions 
of   which    5    will   be   given   to   the    States   east 
of  this     [Pennsylvania].  *  *  *     The  effect  of 
this   principle   must   be   deemed   a   very   perni 
cious  one,  and  in  my  opinion  [is  a]  subversion 
of   that    contained    in    the    Constitution,    which 
in   the    3d   paragraph   of   the    2d    Section,   first 
Article,    founds      the     representation     on      the 
population  of  each   State,   in  terms  as  explicit 
as   it   could   well    have   been   done.     Besides   it 
takes   the    fractions   of   some    States   to   supply 
the   deficiency   of   others,    and   thus   makes   the 
people    of    Georgia    the    instrument    of    giving 
a  member  to   New   Hampshire.  *  *  *     On  our 
part,    the   principle   will    never   be   yielded,    for 
when  such  obvious  encroachments  are  made  on 
the  plain  meaning  of  the  Constitution,  the  bond 
of   Union   ceases   to   be   the   equal   measure   of 
justice  to  all  its  parts.     On  theirs,  a  very  per 
severing  firmness   is   likewise   observed.      They 
appear  to  me  to  play  a  hazardous  game.     The 
government  secures  them  many  important  bless 
ings,  all  those  which  it  gives  to  us  and  many 
more,  and  yet  with  these  they  seem  not  to  be 
satisfied. — To    ARCHIBALD    STUART.     FORD    ED., 
v,  453.     (Pa.,  March  1792.) 

390.  APPORTIONMENT  BILL,  Veto  of 
Advised. — Viewing    this    bill    either    as    a 
violation  of  the  Constitution,  or  as  giving  an 
inconvenient  exposition  of  its  words,  is  it  a 
case  wherein  the  President  ought  to  interpose 
his  negative?     I   think   it   is.     *    *     *    The 
majorities  by  which  this  bill  has  been  carried 
(to  wit:  of  one  in  the  Senate  and  two  in  the 
Representatives)  show  how  divided  the  opin 
ions  were  there.    The  whole  of  both  Houses 
admit  the  Constitution  will  bear  the  other  ex 
position,  whereas  the  minorities  in  both  deny 
it  will  bear  that  of  the  bill.    The  application 
of  any  one  ratio  is  intelligible  to  the  people 
and  will,  therefore,  be  approved,  whereas  the 
complex  operations  of  this  bill  will  never  be 
comprehended  by  them,  and  though  they  may 
acquiesce,  they  cannot  approve  what  they  do 
not     understand. — OPINION    ON    APPORTION 
MENT  BILL,    vii,  601.  FORD  ED.,  v,  500.  (1792.) 

391.  APPORTIONMENT    BILL,    Veto 
Message. — The   Constitution  has  prescribed 
that    representatives     shall     be    apportioned 


Apportionment  Bill 
Approbation 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


42 


among  the  several  States  according  to  their 
respective  numbers ;  and  there  is  no  one  pro 
portion  or  division  which,  applied  to  the  re 
spective  numbers  of  the  States,  will  yield  the 
number  and  allotment  of  representatives  pro 
posed  by  the  bill.  The  Constitution  has  also 
provided  that  the  number  of  representatives 
shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thou 
sand,  which  restriction  is  by  the  contract,  and 
by  fair  and  obvious  construction,  to  be  ap 
plied  to  the  separate  and  respective  numbers 
of  the  States;  and  the  bill  has  allotted  to 
eight  of  the  States  more  than  one  for  thirty 
thousand. — DRAFT  FOR  VETO  MESSAGE.  FORD 
ED.,  v,  501.  (April  1792.) 

392.  APPORTIONMENT  BILL,  His 
tory  of  Veto.— The  President  [Washington] 
*  *  *  [referred]  to  the  representation  bill, 
which  he  had  now  in  his  possession  for  the 
tenth  day.  I  had  before  given  him  my  opinion 
in  writing,  that  the  method  of  apportionment 
was  contrary  to  the  Constitution.  He  agreed 
that  it  was  contrary  to  the  common  understand 
ing  of  that  instrument,  and  to  what  was  under 
stood  at  the  time  by  the  makers  of  it;  that  yet 
it  would  bear  the  construction  which  the  bill 
put,  and  he  observed  that  the  vote  for  and 
against  the  bill  was  perfectly  geographical,  a 
northern  against  a  southern  vote,  and  he  feared 
he  should  be  thought  to  be  taking  side  with 
a  southern  party.  I  admitted  this  motive  of 
delicacy,  but  that  it  should  not  induce  him  to  do 
wrong ;  urged  the  dangers  to  which  the 
scramble  for  the  fractionary  members  would 
always  lead.  He  here  expressed  his  fear  that 
there  would,  ere  long,  be  a  separation  of  the 
Union ;  that  the  public  mind  seemed  dissatis 
fied  and  tending  to  this.  He  went  home,  sent 
for  Randolph,  the  Attorney  General,  desired 
him  to  get  Mr.  Madison  immediately  and  come 
to  me,  and  if  we  three  concurred  in  opinion 
that  he  should  negative  the  bill,  he  desired  to 
hear  nothing  more  about  it,  but  that  we  would 
draw  the  instrument  for  him  to  sign.  They 
came.  Our  minds  had  been  before  made  up. 
We  drew  the  instrument.  Randolph  carried 
it  to  him,  and  told  him  we  all  concurred  in 
it.  He  walked  with  him  to  the  door,  and 
as  if  he  still  wished  to  get  off,  he  said,  J'  and 
you  say  you  approve  of  this  yourself.  "  "  Yes, 
Sir,  "  says  Randolph,  "  I  do  upon  my  honor.  " 
He  sent  it  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
instantly.  A  few  of  the  hottest  friends  of  the 
bill  expressed  passion,  but  the  majority  were 
satisfied,  and  both  in  and  out  of  doors,  it  gave 
pleasure  to  have,  at  length,  an  instance^  of  the 
negative  being  exercised. — THE  ANAS,  ix,  115. 
FORD  ED.,  i,  192.  April  1792.) 

393.  APPROBATION,  Consolation  in — 

Though  I  have  made  up  my  mind  not  to 
suffer  calumny  to  disturb  my  tranquillity,  yet 
I  retain  all  my  sensibilities  for  the  approba 
tion  of  the  good  and  just.  That  is,  indeed, 
the  chief  consolation  for  the  hatred  of  so 
many,  who,  without  the  least  personal  knowl 
edge,  and  on  the  sacred  evidence  of  "  Por 
cupine  "  and  Fenno  alone,  cover  me  with  their 
implacable  hatred.  The  only  return  I  will 
ever  make  to  them  will  be  to  do  them  all  the 
good  I  can,  in  spite  of  their  teeth. — To  SAM 
UEL  SMITH,  iv,  256.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  279.  (M 
1798.) 

394. .     I  thank  God  for  an  op 
portunity   of   retiring    without   censure,    and 


carrying  with  me  the  most  consoling  proofs  of 
public  approbation. — To  DUPONT  DE  NEM 
OURS,  v,  432.  (W.,  1809.) 

395.  APPROBATION     OF    THE    DIS 
CRIMINATING — With  those  who  wish  to 
think  amiss  of  me,  I  have  learned  to  be  per 
fectly  indifferent ;  but  where  I  know  a  mind  to 
be  ingenuous,  and  to  need  only  truth  to  set  it 
to  rights,  I  cannot  be  as  passive. — To  MRS. 
JOHN  ADAMS,     iv,  560.     FORD  ED.,  viii,   311. 
(M.,  1804.) 

396.  APPROBATION  BY  THE  GOOD. 

— To  be  praised  by  those  who  themselves 
deserve  all  praise,  is  a  gratification  of  high  or 
der.  Their  approbation  who,  having  been  high 
in  office  themselves,  have  information  and  tal 
ents  to  guide  their  judgment,  is  a  consolation 
deeply  felt.  A  conscientious  devotion  to  re 
publican  government,  like  charity  in  religion, 
has  obtained  for  me  much  indulgence  from 
my  fellow  citizens,  and  the  aid  of  able  coun 
sellors  has  guided  me  through  many  diffi 
culties. — To  LARKIN  SMITH,  v,  441.  (M., 
April  1809.) 

397.  APPROBATION.      Intelligent.— It 

has  been  a  great  happiness  to  me,  to  have  re 
ceived  the  approbation  of  so  great  a  portion 
of  my  fellow  citizens,  and  particularly  of 
those  who  have  opportunities  of  inquiring, 
reading  and  deciding  for  themselves. — To  C. 
F.  WELLES,  v,  484.  (M.,  1809.) 

398.  APPROBATION,      Legislative.— I 

learn  with  pleasure  the  approbation,  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  of  the 
principles  declared  by  me  [in  the  inaugural  ad 
dress]  ;  principles  which  flowed  sincerely  from 
the  heart  and  judgment,  and  which,  with  sin 
cerity,  will  be  pursued.  While  acting  on  them, 
I  ask  only  to  be  judged  with  truth  and  can 
dor. — To  THE  RHODE  ISLAND  ASSEMBLY,  iv, 
397.  (W.,  May  1801.) 

399. .    For  the  approbation  which 

the  Legislature  of  Vermont  has  been  pleased 
to  express  of  the  principles  and  measures  pur 
sued  in  the  management  of  their  affairs,  I  am 
sincerely  thankful ;  and  should  I  be  so  for 
tunate  as  to  carry  into  retirement  the  equal 
approbation  and  good  will  of  my  fellow  citi 
zens  generally,  it  will  be  the  comfort  of  my 
future  days,  and  will  close  a  service  of  forty 
years  with  the  only  reward  it  ever  wished.* — 
R.  To  A.  VERMONT  LEGISLATURE,  viii,  121. 
(1807.) 

400. .  The  assurances  of  your 

approbation,  and  that  my  conduct  has  given 
satisfaction  to  my  fellow  citizens  generally, 
will  be  an  important  ingredient  in  my  future 
happiness.— R.  To  A.  VIRGINIA  ASSEMBLY. 
viii,  148.  (1809.) 

401.  APPROBATION  OF  NEIGHBORS. 
— It  is  a  sufficient  happiness  to  me  to  know 
that  my  fellow  citizens  of  the  country  gen 
erally  entertain  for  me  the  kind  sentiments 
which  have  prompted  this  proposition  [to 

*  To  addresses  from  Georgia,  New  York,  Mary 
land,  Pennsylvania  and  Rhode  Island,  received 
about  the  same  time,  similar  replies  were  sent— 
EDITOR. 


43 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Approbation 
Appropriations 


meet  him  on  his  way  home]  without  giving 
to  so  many  the  trouble  of  leaving  their  homes 
to  meet  a  single  individual.  I  shall  have  op 
portunities  of  taking  them  individually  by  the 
hand  at  our  court  house  and  other  public 
places,  and  of  exchanging  assurances  of  mu 
tual  esteem.  Certainly  it  is  the  greatest  con 
solation  to  me  to  know,  that  in  returning  to 
the  bosom  of  my  native  country,  I  shall  be 
again  in  the  midst  of  their  kind  affections: 
and  I  can  say  with  truth  that  my  return  to 
them  will  make  me  hapoier  than  I  have  been 
since  I  left  them.— To  T.  M.  RANDOLPH,  v, 
431.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  247.  (W.,  Feb.  1809.) 

402.  APPROBATION,  Old  friends  and. 
— The  approbation  of  my  ancient  friends  is, 
above    all    things,    the   most   grateful    to    my 
heart.     They  know  for  what  objects  we  re 
linquished   the   delights   of  domestic   society, 
tranquillity  and  science,  and  committed  our 
selves  to  the  ocean  of  revolution,  to  wear  out 
the  only  life  God  has  given  us  here  in  scenes 
the    benefits    of   which    will    accrue   only   to 
those  who  follow  us. — To  JOHN  DICKINSON. 
iv,   424.      (W.,    1801.) 

403.  APPROBATION,        Popular.— The 

approbation  of  my  constituents  is  truly  the 
most  valued  reward  for  any  services  it  has 
fallen  to  my  lot  to  render  them — their  con 
fidence  and  esteem  the  greatest  consolation  of 
my  life.— R.  To  A.  MASSACHUSETTS  LEGISLA 
TURE,  viii,  116.  (Feb.  1807.) 

404. .     In    a   virtuous    and    free 

State,  no  rewards  can  be  so  pleasing  to  sen 
sible  minds,  as  those  which  include  the  ap 
probation  of  our  fellow  citizens. — INAUGURA 
TION  SPEECH  AS  GOVERNOR.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  187. 
(I779-) 

405.  APPROBATION,  Principle  and.— 
Our  part  is  to  pursue  with  steadiness  what  is 
right,  turning  neither  to  right  nor  left  for  the 
intrigues  or  popular  delusions  of  the  day,  as 
sured  that  the  public  approbation  will  in  the 
end  be  with  us.— To  GENERAL  BRECKENRIDGE. 
vii,  238.     (M.,  1822.) 

406.  APPROBATION,   Rewarded  by.— 

The  approbation  of  my  fellow  citizens  is  the 
richest  reward  I  can  receive. — To  RICHARD 
M.  JOHNSON,  v,  256.  (W.,  1808.) 

407. .     The   approving   voice   of 

pur  fellow  citizens,  for  endeavors  to  be  useful, 
is  the  greatest  of  all  earthly  rewards.* — R. 
To  A.  NEW  LONDON  METHODISTS,  viii,  147. 
(1809.) 

408. .  If,  in  my  retirement  to 

the  humble  station  of  a  private  citizen,  I  am 
accompanied  with  the  esteem  and  approbation 
of  my  fellow  citizens,  trophies  obtained  by 
the  blood-stained  steel,  or  the  tattered  flags 
of  the  tented  field,  will  never  be  envied. — R. 
To  A.  MARYLAND  REPUBLICANS,  viii,  165. 
(1809.) 

409.  APPROBATION,  Right  and.— I 
have  ever  found  in  my  progress  through  life, 

*  Jefferson  retired  with  a  reputation  and  popu 
larity  hardly  inferior  to  that  of  Washington.— John 
T.  Morse,  Jr.,  Life  of  Jefferson.  318. 


that,  acting  for  the  public,  if  we  do  always 
what  is  right,  the  approbation  denied  in  the 
beginning  will  surely  follow  us  in  the  end. 
It  is  from  posterity  we  are  to  expect  remu 
neration  for  the  sacrifices  we  are  making  for 
their  service,  of  time,  quiet  and  good  will. — 
To  JOSEPH  C.  CABELL.  vii,  394.  (M.,  1825.) 

410.  APPROBATION,      Undeserved.— I 

have  never  claimed  any  other  merit  than 
of  good  intentions,  sensible  that  in  the  choice 
of  measures,  error  of  judgment  has  too  often 
had  its  influence ;  and  that  with  whatever  in 
dulgence  my  countrymen  *  *  *  have  been  so 
kind  as  to  view  my  course,  yet  they  would 
certainly  not  know  me  in  the  picture  here 
drawn,  and  would,  I  fear,  say  in  the  words  of 
the  poet,  "  praise  undeserved  is  satire  in  dis 
guise."  Were,  therefore,  the  piece  to  be  pre 
pared  for  the  press,  I  should  certainly  entreat 
you  to  revise  that  part  with  a  severe  eye. — To 
AMELOT  DE  LA  CROIX.  v,  422.  (W.,  1809.) 

411.  APPROBATION  BY  THE  VIRTU 
OUS. — Sentiments   of   esteem   from   men   of 
worth,  of  reflection,  and  of  pure  attachment 
to  republican  government,  are  my  consolation 
against  the  calumnies  of  which  it  has  suited 
certain  writers  to  make  me  the  object.  Under 
these  I  hope  I  shall  never  bend. — To  HARRY 
INNES.     FORD  ED.,  vii,  383.     (M.,  1799.) 

412.  APPROPRIATIONS,       Borrowing 
from. — There  are  funds  sufficient  and  regu 
larly  appropriated  to  the  fitting  out  [ships], 
but  for  manning  the  proper  funds   are  ex 
hausted,  consequently  we  must  borrow  from 
other  funds,  and  state  the  matter  to  Congress. 
— ANAS.     FORD  ED.,  i,  308.     (1805.) 

413.  APPROPRIATIONS,    The   Consti 
tution  and.— In  the  answer  to  Turreau,   I 
think  it  would  be  better  to  lay  more  stress  on 
the  constitutional  bar  to  our  furnishing  the 
money,  because  it  would  apply  in  an  occasion 
of  peace  as  well  as  war.     I  submit  to  you, 
therefore,    *    *    *    the  inserting,  "  but,  in  in 
dulging   these   dispositions,   the    President   is 
bound  to  stop  at  the  limits  prescribed  by  our 
Constitution  and  law  to  the  authorities  in  his 
hands.    One  of  the  limits  is  that  '  no  money 
shall   be   drawn   from   the   Treasury   but   in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law,' 
and  no  law  having  made  any  appropriation  of 
money  for  any  purpose  similar  to  that  ex 
pressed  in  your  letter,  it  lies,  of  course,  be 
yond  his  constitutional  powers." — To  JAMES 
MADISON.      FORD   ED.,   viii,   474.      (M.,    Sep. 
1806.) 

414.  APPROPRIATIONS,       Discretion 
over. — The    question    whether    the    Berceau 
was  to  be  delivered  up  under  the  treaty  was  of 
Executive    cognizance   entirely,    and    witnout 
appeal.     So  was  the  question  as  to  the  con 
dition  in  which  she  should  be  delivered.    And 
it  is  as  much  an  invasion  of  its  independence 
for  a  coordinate  branch  to  call  for  the  reasons 
of  the  decision,  as  it  would  be  to  call  on  the 
Supreme  Court  for  its  reasons  on  any  judi 
ciary  decision.  If  an  appropriation  were  asked 
the   Legislature   would   have   a   right  to   ask 
reasons.     But  in  this  case  they  had  confided 


Appropriations 
Arbitration 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


44 


an  appropriation  (for  naval  contingencies)  to 
the  discretion  of  the  Executive.  Under  this 
appropriation  our  predecessors  bought  the 
vessel  (for  there  was  no  order  of  Congress 
authorizing  them  to  buy)  and  began  her  re 
pairs;  we  completed  them.  I  will  not  say 
that  a  very  gross  abuse  of  discretion  in  a  past 
appropriation  would  not  furnish  ground  to  the 
Legislature  to  take  notice  of  it.  In  what  form 
is  not  now  necessary  to  decide.  But  so  far 
from  a  gross  abuse,  the  decision  in  this  case 
was  correct,  honorable  and  advantageous  to 
the  nation.  I  cannot  see  to  what  legitimate  ob 
jects  any  resolution  of  the  House  on  the  sub 
ject  can  lead;  and  if  one  is  passed  on  ground 
not  legitimate,  our  duty  will  be  to  resist  it. — 
To  WILLIAM  B.  GILES.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  142. 
(April  1802.) 

415.  APPROPRIATIONS,    Diverting.— 

The  diversion  of  the  [French]  money  from 
its  legal  appropriation  offers  a  flaw  against 
the  Executive  which  may  place  them  in  the 
wrong. — To  PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON.  FORD 
ED.,  vi,  179.  (I793-) 

416. .  If  it  should  appear  that 

the  Legislature  has  done  their  part  in  fur 
nishing  the  money  for  the  French  nation,  and 
that  the  Executive  departments  have  applied 
it  to  other  purposes,  then  it  will  certainly  be 
desirable  that  we  get  back  on  legal  ground  as 
soon  as  possible,  by  pressing  on  the  domestic 
funds  and  availing  ourselves  of  any  proper 
opportunity  which  may  be  furnished  of  re 
placing  the  money  to  the  foreign  creditors.— 
To  PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON.  FORD  ED.,  vi, 
177-  (I793-) 

417.  APPROPRIATIONS,  Estimates 
and. — I  like  your  idea  of  kneading  all  Hamil 
ton's  little  scraps  and  fragments  into  one 
batch,  and  adding  to  it  a  complementary  sum, 
which,  while  it  forms  it  into  a  single  mass 
from  which  everything  is  to  be  paid,  will  en 
able  us,  should  a  breach  of  appropriation  ever 
be  charged  on  us,  to  prove  that  the  sum  ap 
propriated,  and  more,  has  been  applied  to  its 
specific  object. — To  ALBERT  GALLATIN.  iv, 
428.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  140.  (W.,  1802.) 

418. .     Congress,  aware  that  too 

minute  a  specification  has  its  evil  as  well  as  a 
too  general  one,  does  not  make  the  estimate 
a  part  of  their  law,  but  gives  a  sum  in  gross, 
trusting  the  Executive  discretion  for  that 
year,  and  that  sum  only;  so  in  other  depart 
ments,  as  of  War,  for  instance,  the  estimate 
of  the  Secretary  specifies  all  the  items  of 
clothing,  subsistence,  pay,  &c.,  of  the  army 
And  Congress  throws  this  into  such  masses 
as  they  think  best,  to  wit,  a  sum  in  gross  for 
clothing,  another  for  subsistence,  a  third  for 
pay,  &c.,  binding  up  the  Executive  discretion 
only  by  the  sum,  and  the  object  generalized  to 
a  certain  degree.  The  minute  details  of  th< 
estimate  are  thus  dispensed  with  in  point  o 
obligation,  and  the  discretion  of  the  officer  i 
enlarged  to  the  limits  of  the  classification 
which  Congress  thinks  it  best  for  the  public 
interest  to  make.— To  ALBERT  GALLATIN.  iv 
529.  (1804.) 


419.  APPROPRIATIONS,        Executive 

power   over. — The   Executive  *  *  *  has   the 

lower,  though  not  the  right,  to  apply  money 

ontrary  to  its  legal  appropriations.  Cases  may 

»e  imagined,  however,  where  it  would  be  their 

duty  to  do  this.     But  they  must  be  cases  of 

\vtreme  necessity.     The  payment  of  interest 

0  the  domestic  creditors  has  been  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  causes  of  diverting  the  foreign 

und.  But  this  is  not  an  object  of  greater  ne 
cessity  than  that  to  which  it  was  legally  ap 
propriated.  It  is  taking  the  money  from  our 
oreign  creditors  to  pay  it  to  the  domestic 
mes;  a  preference  which  neither  justice, 
gratitude,  nor  the  estimation  in  which  these 
wo  descriptions  of  creditors  are  held  in  this 
country  will  justify.  The  payment  of  the 
Army  and  the  daily  expenses  of  the  govern 
ment  have  been  also  mentioned  as  objects  of 
withdrawing  this  money.  These  indeed  are 
jressing  objects,  and  might  produce  that  de- 
_ree  of  distressing  necessity  which  would  be 
a  justification. —  To  PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON. 
FORD  ED.,  vi,  176.  (Pa.,  1793.) 

420.  APPROPRIATIONS,         Expendi 
tures  and. — A  violation  of  a  law  making  ap 
propriations  of  money,  is  a  violation  of  that 
section   of   the    Constitution   of   the    United 
States  which  requires  that  no  money  shall  be 
drawn  from  the  Treasury  but  in  consequences 
of     appropriations     made     by     law. — GILES 
TREASURY  RESOLUTIONS.     FORD  ED.,  vi,   168. 
(I793-) 

421.  APPROPRIATIONS,  Specific.— It 
is  essential  to  the  due  administration  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  that  laws 
making     specific     appropriations     of     money 
should  be  strictly  observed  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  thereof. — GILES  TREASURY  RES 
OLUTIONS.   FORD  ED.,  vi,  168.    (1793.) 

422. .     In  our  care  of  the  public 

contributions  intrusted  to  our  direction,  it 
would  be  prudent  to  multiply  barriers  against 
their  dissipation,  by  appropriating  specific 
sums  to  every  specific  purpose  susceptible  of 
definition;  by  disallowing  applications  of 
money  varying  from  the  appropriation  in  ob 
ject,  or  transcending  it  in  amount;  by  reduc 
ing  the  undefined  field  of  contingencies,  and 
thereby  circumscribing  discretionary  powers 
over  money ;  and  by  bringing  back  to  a  single 
department  all  accountabilities  for  money 
where  the  examination  may  be  prompt,  effica 
cious,  and  uniform. — FIRST  ANNUAL  MES 
SAGE,  viii,  10.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  120.  (Dec. 
1801.)  See  MONEY  BILLS. 

423.  ARBITRATION,   Offer  of.— As  to 

our  dispute  with  Schweighauser  and  Dobree, 
in  the  conversation  I  had  with  Dobree  at 
Nantes,  he  appeared  to  think  so  rationally  on 
the  subject,  that  I  thought  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  accommodating  it  with  him,  and 

1  wished  rather  to  settle  it  by  accommodation, 
than  to  apply  to  the  minister.     I  afterwards 
had  it  intimated  to  him  *  *  *,  that  I  had  it 
in  idea  to  propose  a  reference  to  arbitrators. 
He  expressed  a  cheerful  concurrence  in  it.     I 
thereupon  made  the  proposition  to  him  for- 


45 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Arbitration 
Architecture 


mally,  by  letter,  mentioning  particularly,  that 
we  would  choose  our  arbitrators  of  some  neu 
tral  nation,  and,  of  preference,  from  among 
the  Dutch  refugees  in  Paris.  I  was  surprised 
to  receive  an  answer  from  him,  wherein,  after 
expressing  his  .own  readiness  to  accede  to  this 
proposition,  he  added,  that  on  consulting  with 
Mr.  Puchilberg,  he  had  declined  it. — To 
JOHN  JAY.  ii,  496.  (P.,  1788.) 

424. .     I    began    by    offering    to 

Schweighauser  and  Dobree  an  arbitration  be 
fore  honest  and  judicious  men  of  a  neutral  na 
tion.  They  declined  this,  and  had  the  modesty 
to  propose  an  arbitration  before  merchants  of 
their  own  tozvn.  I  gave  them  warning  then, 
that  as  the  offer  on  the  part  of  a  sovereign  na 
tion  to  submit  to  a  private  arbitration  was 
an  unusual  cqndescendence,  if  they  did  not 
accept  them,  it  would  not  be  repeated,  and 
that  the  United  States  would  judge  the  case 
for  themselves  hereafter.  They  continued  to 
decline  it. — To  WILLIAM  SHORT.  FORD  ED.,  v, 
365.  (Pa.,  1791.) 

425.  ARBORICULTURE,  Coffee  tree.— 

Bartram  is  extremely  anxious  to  get  a  large 
supply  of  seeds  of  the  Kentucky  coffee  tree. 
I  told  him  I  would  use  all  my  interest  with  you 
to  obtain  it,  as  I  think  I  heard  you  say  that 
some  neighbors  of  yours  had  a  large  number  of 
trees.  Be  so  good  as  to  take  measures  for 
bringing  a  good  quantity,  if  possible,  to  Bart 
ram  when  you  come  to  Congress. — To  JAMES 
MADISON,  iii,  569.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  279.  (1793.) 

426.  ARBORICULTURE,  Cork  Oak.— I 
expect  from  the  South  of  France  some  acorns 
of  the  cork  oak,  which  I  propose  for  your  so 
ciety     [Agricultural],  as   I    am   persuaded   they 
will  succeed  with  you.     I  observed  it  to  grow 
in   England   without   shelter,    not   well,    indeed, 
but  so  as  to  give  hopes  that  it  would  do  well 
with     you. — To     WILLIAM     DRAYTON.     i,     555. 
(P.,  1786.) 

427. .     I    sent    you    a   parcel    of 

acorns  of  the  cork  oak  by  Colonel  Franks.  To 
WILLIAM  DRAYTON.  ii,  202.  (Pa.,  1787.) 

428. .  I  have  been  long  endeav 
oring  to  procure  the  cork  tree  from  Europe, 
but  without  success.  A  plant  which  I  brought 
with  me  from  Paris  died  after  languishing  some 
time,  and  of  several  parcels  of  acorns  received 
from  a  correspondent  at  Marseilles,  not  one 
has  ever  vegetated.  I  shall  continue  my  en 
deavors,  although  disheartened  by  the  non 
chalance  of  our  southern  fellow  citizens,  with 
whom  alone  they  can  thrive. — To  JAMES 

RONALDSON.       Vi,    92.       FORD    ED.,    ix,     370.       (M., 

Jan.  1813.) 

429.  ARBORICULTURE,  Fruit  trees.— 
Should  you  be  able  to  send  me  any  plants  of 
good  fruit,  and  especially  of  peaches  and  eating 
grapes,    they   will   be   thankfully   received. — To 
PHILLIP     MAZZEI.     FORD    ED.,    viii,     16.     (W., 
March   1801.) 

—  ARBORICULTURE,  the  Olive.— See 
OLIVE. 

430.  ARBORICULTURE,     Pecan.-— The 
pecan    nut    is,    as   you   conjecture,    the    Illinois 
nut.     The    former    is    the    vulgar    name    south 
of  the  Potomac,  as  also  with  the  Indians  and 
Spaniards,    and    enters   also    into   the   botanical 
name    which    is    Juglano   Paean. — To    FRANCIS 
HOPKINSON.     ii,  74.     (P.,   1786.) 


431.  -  — .     Procure  me  two  or  three 
hundred  pecan  nuts  from  the  western  country. 
—To  F.  HOPKINSON.     i,  506.     (P.,   1786.) 

432.  -  — .     I  thank  you  for  the  pecan 
nuts. — To  JAMES  MADISON,     ii,  156.     FORD  ED., 
iv,  396.     (P.,   1787.) 

433.  ARBORICULTURE,       Sensitive 
Plant. — Your  attention  to  one  burthen  I  laid 
on    you,     encourages     me    to     remind    you    of 
another,  which  is  the  sending  me  some  of  the 
seeds  of  the  Dionaa  Muscipula,  or  Venus   fly 
trap,  called  also  with  you,  I  believe,  the  Sensi 
tive    Plant.— To     MR.     HAWKINS,     ii,     3.     (P., 
1786.) 

434.  ARBORICULTURE,  Trees.— I  send 
a  packet  of  the  seeds  of  trees  which   I  would 
wish  Anthony  to  sow  in  a  large  nursery,  noting 
well  their  names. — To  NICHOLAS  LEWIS.     FORD 
ED.,  iv,  344.     (P.,    1786.) 

435.  ARBORICULTURE,  Vines.— I  am 

making  a  collection  of  vines  for  wine  and  for 
the  table.— To  A.  CAREY,  i,  508.  (P.,  1786.) 

436.  ARCHITECTURE,  Bad.— The  gen 
ius  of  architecture   seems  to   have   shed   its 
maledictions    over    this    land     [Virginia]. — 
NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,     viii,  394.    FORD  ED.,  iii, 
258.     (1782.) 

437.  ARCHITECTURE,     Beauty     in.— 

How  is  a  taste  in  this  beautiful  art  to  be 
formed  in  our  countrymen  unless  we  avail 
ourselves  of  every  occasion  when  public  build 
ings  are  to  be  erected,  of  presenting  to  them 
models  for  their  study  and  imitation? — To 
JAMES  MADISON,  i,  433.  (P.,  1785.) 

438.  ARCHITECTURE,    Brick,    Stone, 
Wood. — All   we  shall  do  in  the  way  of  ref 
ormation  will  produce  no  permanent  improve 
ment  to  our  country,  while  the  unhappy  prej 
udice  prevails  that  houses  of  brick  or  stone 
are  less  wholesome  than  those  of  wood.     A 
dew  is  often  observed  on  the  walls  of  the  for 
mer  in  rainy  weather,  and  the  most  obvious 
solution    is,    that    the    rain    has    penetrated 
through   these   walls.     The   following   facts, 
however,  are  sufficient  to  prove  the  error  of 
this  solution :     i.  This  dew  on  the  walls  ap 
pears  when  there  is  no  rain,  if  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere  be  moist.     2.  It  appears  on  the 
partition  as  well   as   the  exterior  walls.     3. 
So,  also  on  pavements  of  brick  or  stone.     4. 
It  is  more  copious  in  proportion  as  the  walls 
are  thicker ;  the  reverse  of  which  ought  to  be 
the  case,  if  this  hypothesis  were  just.    If  cold 
water  be  poured  into  a  vessel  of  stone,  or 
glass,  a  dew  forms  instantly  on  the  outside; 
but  if  it  be  poured  into  a  vessel  of  wood,  there 
is  no  such  appearance.    It  is  not  supposed,  in 
the   first   case,    that    the    water   has    exuded 
through  the  glass,  but  that  it  is  precipitated 
from  the   circumambient   air;   as   the   humid 
particles  of  vapor,  passing  from  the  boiler  of 
an  alembic  through  its  refrigerant,  are  pre 
cipitated  from  the  air,  in  which  they  are  sus 
pended,  on  the  internal  surface  of  the  refrig 
erant.    Walls  of  brick  or  stone  act  as  the  re 
frigerant   in   this   instance.      They   are    suffi 
ciently  cold  to  condense  and  precipitate  the 
moisture  suspended  in  the  air  of  the  room, 
when  it  is  heavily  charged  therewith.     But 


Architecture 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


46 


walls  of  wood  are  not  so.  The  question  then 
is,  whether  the  air  in  which  this  moisture  is 
left  floating,  or  that  which  is  deprived  of  it, 
be  most  wholesome?  In  both  cases,  the  rem 
edy  is  easy.  A  little  fire  kindled  in  the  room, 
whenever  the  air  is  damp,  prevents  the  pre 
cipitation  on  the  walls;  and  this  practice, 
found  healthy  in  the  warmest  as  well  as 
coldest  seasons,  is  as  necessary  in  a  wooden 
as  in  a  stone  or  brick  house.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say,  that  the  rain  never  penetrates  through 
walls  of  brick.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  seen 
instances  of  it.  But  with  us  it  is  only  through 
the  northern  and  eastern  walls  of  the  house, 
after  a  north-easterly  storm,  these  being  the 
only  ones  which  continue  long  enough  to 
force  through  the  walls.  This,  however,  hap 
pens  too  rarely  to  give  a  just  character  of 
unwholesomeness  to  such  houses.  In  a  house, 
the  walls  of  which  are  of  well-burnt  brick  and 
good  mortar,  I  have  seen  the  rain  penetrate 
through  but  twice  in  a  dozen  or  fifteen  years. 
The  inhabitants  of  Europe,  who  dwell  chiefly 
in  houses  of  stone  or  brick,  are  surely  as 
healthy  as  those  of  Virginia.  These  houses 
have  the  advantage,  too,  of  being  warmer  in 
winter  and  cooler  in  summer  than  those  of 
wood ;  of  being  cheaper  in  their  first  construc 
tion,  where  lime  is  convenient,  and  infinitely 
more  durable.  The  latter  consideration  ren 
ders  it  of  great  importance  to  eradicate  this 
prejudice  from  the  minds  of  our  countrymen. 
A  country  whose  buildings  are  of  wood,  can 
never  increase  in  its  improvements  to  any 
considerable  degree.  Their  duration  is  highly 
estimated  at  fifty  years.  Every  half  century 
then  our  country  becomes  a  tabula  _  rasa, 
whereon  we  have  to  set  out  anew,  as  in  the 
first  moment  of  seating  it.  Whereas  when 
buildings  are  of  durable  materials,  every  new 
edifice  is  an  actual  and  permanent  acquisition 
to  the  State,  adding  to  its  value  as  well  as 
to  its  ornament. — NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,  viii, 
395.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  258.  (1782.) 

439.  ARCHITECTURE,    Delight    in.— 

Architecture  is  my  delight,  and  putting  up 
and  pulling  down,  one  of  my  favorite  amuse 
ments. — RAYNER'S  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON.  524. 

440.  ARCHITECTURE,  Economy  in.— 
I  have  scribbled  some  general  notes  on  the 
plan  of  a  house  you  enclosed.     I  have  done 
more.    I  have  endeavored  to  throw  the  same 
area,  the  same  extent  of  walls,  the  same  num 
ber  of  rooms,  and  of  the  same  sizes,  into  an 
other  form  so  as  to  offer  a    choice    to    the 
builder.    Indeed,  I  varied  my  plan  by  showing 
what  it  would  be  with  alcove  bed  rooms,  to 
which  I   am   so  much  attached. — To  JAMES 
MADISON.     FORD  ED.,  vi,  259.     (Pa.,  I793-) 

441.  ARCHITECTURE,  English.— Eng 
lish  architecture  is  in  the  most  wretched  style 
I  ever  saw,  not  meaning  to  except  America, 
where  it  is  bad,  nor  even  Virginia,  where  it  is 
worse   than   in   any   other  part   of   America, 
which  I  have  seen.— To  JOHN  PAGE,     i,  550. 
FORD  ED.,  iv,  214.     (P.,  1786.) 

442.  ARCHITECTURE,  Fascination  of. 
— Here    I    am    gazing    whole    hours    at   the 
Maison    quarree,  like  a  lover  at  his  mistress. 


The  stocking  weavers  and  silk  spinners 
around  it  consider  me  a  hypochondriac  Eng 
lishman,  about  to  write  with  a  pistol  the  last 
chapter  of  his  history.  This  is  the  second 
time  I  have  been  in  love  since  I  left  Paris. 
The  first  was  with  a  Diana  at  the  Chateau  de 
Laye-Epinaye  in  Beaujolois,  a  delicious  mor 
sel  of  sculpture,  by  M.  A.  Slodtz.  This,  you 
will  say,  was  in  rule,  to  fall  in  love  with  a 
female  beauty ;  but  with  a  house !  it  is  out  of 
all  precedent.  No,  madame,  it  is  not  without 
a  precedent  in  my  own  history.  While  in 
Paris  I  was  violently  smitten  with  the  Hotel 
de  Salm,  and  used  to  go  to  the  Tuileries  al 
most  daily,  to  look  at  it— To  MADAME  LA 
COMTESSE  DE  TESSE.  ii,  131.  (N.,  1787.) 

443.  ARCHITECTURE,  Faulty.— Build 
ings    are    often    erected,    by    individuals,    of 
considerable    expense.      To    give  these  sym 
metry  and  taste,  would  not  increase  their  cost. 
It  would  only  change  the  arrangement  of  the 
materials,  the  form  and  combination  of  the 
members.    This  would  often  cost  less  than  the 
burden  of  barbarous  ornaments  with  which 
these  buildings  are  sometimes  charged.     But 
the  first  principles  of  the  art  are  unknown, 
and  there  exists  scarcely  a  model  among  us 
sufficiently  chaste  to  give  an  idea  of  them. — 
NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,    viii,  394.     FORD  ED.,  iii, 
258.     (1782.) 

444.  ARCHITECTURE,    French.— Were 
I  to  proceed  to  tell  you  how  much  I  enjoy 
French     architecture  *  *  *  I     should     want 
words. — To  MR.    BELLINI,    i,  445.  (P.,  1785.) 

445.  ARCHITECTURE,  Importance  of. 

— Architecture  is  worth  great  attention.  As 
we  double  our  number  every  twenty  years  we 
must  double  our  houses.  *  *  *  It  is,  then, 
among  the  most  important  arts ;  and  it  is  de 
sirable  to  introduce  taste  into  an  art  which 
shows  so  much. — TRAVELLING  HINTS,  ix,  404. 
(1788.) 

446.  ARCHITECTURE,  Plan  of  Prison. 

— With  respect  to  the  plan  of  a  Prison,  re 
quested  [by  the  Virginia  authorities]  in  1785, 
(being  then  in  Paris),  I  had  heard  of  a  benev 
olent  society,  in  England,  which  had  been  in 
dulged  by  the  government,  in  an  experiment 
of  the  effect  of  labor,  in  solitary  confinement, 
on  some  of  their  criminals :  which  experiment 
had  succeeded  beyond  expectation.  The  same 
idea  had  been  suggested  in  France,  and  an 
architect  of  Lyons  had  proposed  a  plan  of  a 
well-contrived  edifice,  on  the  principle  of  soli 
tary  confinement.  I  procured  a  copy,  and  as 
it  was  too  large  for  our  purposes,  I  drew  one 
on  a  scale  less  extensive,  but  susceptible  of 
additions  as  they  should  be  wanting.  This  I 
sent  to  the  directors,  instead  of  a  plan  of  a 
common  prison,  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
suggest  the  idea  of  labor  in  solitary  confine 
ment,  instead  of  that  on  the  public  works, 
which  we  had  adopted  in  our  Revised  Code. 
Its  principle,  accordingly,  but  not  its  exact 
form,  was  adopted  by  Latrobe  in  carrying  the 
plan  into  execution,  by  the  erection  of  what 
is  now  called  the  Penitentiary,  built  under  his 
direction. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  i,  46.  FORD  ED., 
64.  (1821.) 

447.  ARCHITECTURE,        Porticos.— A 
portico  may  be  from  five  to  ten  diameters 


47 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Architecture 


of  the  column  deep,  or  projected  from  the 
building.  If  of  more  than  five  diameters, 
there  must  be  a  column  in  the  middle  of  each 
flank,  since  it  must  never  be  more  than  five 
diameters  from  center  to  center  of  column. 
The  portico  of  the  Maison  quarree  is  three 
intercolonnations  deep.  I  never  saw  as  much 
to  a  private  house.— To  JAMES  MADISON. 
FORD  ED.,  vi,  327.  (I793-) 

_  ARCHITECTURE,  Roman.— See  AN 
TIQUITIES. 

448.  ARCHITECTURE,         Ugly.— The 
private  buildings  [in  Virginia]  are  very  rarely 
constructed  of    stone    or    brick,    much    the 
greater  portion  being  of  scantling  and  boards, 
plastered  with  lime.    It  is  impossible  to  devise 
things   more   ugly,   uncomfortable,   and   hap 
pily   more   perishable. — NOTES   ON   VIRGINIA. 
viii,  393-     FORD  ED.,  iii,  257.     (1782.) 

449.  ARCHITECTURE,  Virginia  Capi 
tol. — I  was  written  to  in  1785  (being  then  in 
Paris)    by    directors    appointed    to    superintend 
the  building  of  a  Capitol  in  Richmond,  to  ad 
vise  them  as  to  a  plan,  and  to  add  to  it  one 
of  a  Prison.     Thinking  it  a  favorable  opportun 
ity   of   introducing   into   the   State   an   example 
of  architecture,  in  the  classic  style  of  antiquity, 
and  the  Maison  qarree  of  Nismes,  an  ancient 
Roman   temple,    being   considered   as   the   most 
perfect  model   existing  of  what  may  be   called 
Cubic  architecture,  I  applied  to  M.  Clerissault, 
who  had  published  drawings  of  the  Antiquities 
of  Nismes,  to  have  me  a  model  of  the  building 
made  in  stucco,  only  changing  the  order  from 
Corinthinan  to   Ionic,   on  account  of  the  diffi 
culty    of    the    Corinthian    capitals.     I    yielded, 
with  reluctance,  to  the  taste  of  Clerissault,   in 
his     preference     of     the     modern     capital     of 
Scamozzi  to  the  more  noble  capital  of  antiquity. 
This  was  executed   by   the  artist  whom    Choiseul 
Goumer  had  carried  with  him  to  Constantinople, 
and  employed,  while  ambassador  there,  in  mak 
ing  those  beautiful   models   of  the  remains   of 
Grecian   architecture  which   are  to   be   seen   at 
Paris.     To  adapt  the  exterior  to  our  use,  I  drew 
a   plan    for   the   interior,    with   the   apartments 
necessary   for   legislative,    executive,    and   judi 
ciary  purposes ;  and  accommodated  in  their  size 
and  distribution  to  the  form  and  dimensions  of 
the    building.     These    were    forwarded    to    the 
directors,  in  1786,  and  were  carried  into  execu 
tion,  with  some  variations,   not  for  the  better, 
the  most   important  of  which,   however,   admit 
of   future   correction. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY,     i,   45. 
FORD  ED.,  i,  63.     (1821.) 

450. .    We  took  for  our  model 

what  is  called  the  Maison  quarree  of  Nismes, 
one  of  the  most  beautiful,  if  not  the  most 
beautiful  and  precious  morsel  of  architecture 
left  us  by  antiquity.  It  was  built  by  Caius  and 
Lucius  Cc-esar,  and  repaired  by  Louis  XIV.,  and 
has  the  suffrage  of  all  the  judges  of  architecture 
who  have  seen  it,  as  yielding  to  no  one  of  the 
beautiful  monuments  of  Greece,  Rome,  Palmyra 
and  Balbec,  which  late  travellers  have  communi 
cated  to  us.  It  is  very  simple,  but  it  is  noble 
beyond  expression,  and  would  have  done  honor 
to  our  country,  as  presenting  to  travellers  a 
specimen  of  taste  in  our  infancy,  promising 
much  for  our  maturer  age. — To  JAMES  MADISON. 
i,  432.  (P.,  1785.) 

451. .     I  shall  send  them  a  plan 

taken  from  the  best  morsel  of  ancient  archi 
tecture  now  remaining.  It  has  obtained  the 


approbation  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  centuries,  and 
is,  therefore,  preferable  to  any  design  which 
might  be  newly  contrived.  It  will  give  more 
room,  be  more  convenient  and  cost  less  than 
the  plan  they  sent  me.  Pray  encourage  them 
to  wait  for  it,  and  to  execute  it.  It  will  be 
superior  in  beauty  to  anything  in  America,  and 
not  inferior  to  anything  in  the  world.  It  is 
very  simple. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  i,  415. 
(P.,  1785.) 

452. .  The  designs  for  the  Capi 
tol  are  simple  and  sublime.  More  cannot  be 
said.  They  are  not  the  brat  of  a  whimsical 
conception  never  before  brought  to  light,  but 
copied  from  the  most  precious,  the  most  perfect 
model,  of  ancient  architecture  remaining  on 
earth  ;  one  which  has  received  the  approbation 
of  near  2000  years,  and  which  is  sufficiently 
remarkable  to  have  been  visited  by  all  travellers. 
— To  DR.  JAMES  CURRIE.  FORD  EDV  iv,  133. 

453. .  I  have  been  much  morti 
fied  with  information  I  received  *  *  *  from 
Virginia,  that  the  first  brick  of  the  Capitol 
would  be  laid  within  a  few  days.  But  surely, 
the  delay  of  this  piece  of  a  summer  would 
have  been  repaired  by  the  savings  in  the  plan 
preparing  here,  were  we  to  value  its  other 
superiorities  as  nothing. — To  JAMES  MADISON. 
i,  432.  (P.,  1785.) 

454.  -        .     Do  *  *  *  exert  yourself 

to  get  the  plan  [of  the  Capitol]  begun  on, 
set  aside  and  that  adopted  which  was  drawn 
here.  It  was  taken  from  a  model  which  has 
been  the  admiration  of  sixteen  centuries  ;  which 
has  been  the  object  of  as  many  pilgrimages 
as  the  tomb  of  Mahomet  ;  which  will  give 
unrivalled  honor  to  our  State,  and  furnish  a 
model  whereon  to  form  the  taste  of  our  young 
men.  It  will  cost  much  less,  too,  than  the 
one  begun  because  it  does  not  cover  one-half 
the  area. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  i,  534.  FORD 
ED.,  iv,  196.  (P.,  1785.) 

455. .     Pray  try  if  you  can  effect 

the  stopping  of  this  work.  *  *  *  The  loss  will 
be  only  of  the  laying  the  bricks  already  laid, 
or  a  part  of  them.  The  bricks  themselves 
will  do  again  for  the  interior  walls,  and  one 
side  wall  and  one  end  wall  may  remain, 
as  they  will  answer  equally  well  for  our  plan. 
This  loss  is  not  to  be  weighed  against  the  saving 
of  money  which  will  arise,  against  the  comfort 
of  laying  out  the  public  money  for  something 
honorable,  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  an  object 
and  proof  of  national  good  taste,  and  the  regret 
and  mortification  of  erecting  a  monument  of 
our  barbarism,  which  will  be  loaded  with  exe 
crations  as  long  as  it  shall  endure. — To  JAMES 
MADISON,  i,  433.  (P.,  1785.) 

456. .     Our   new    Capitol,    when 

the  corrections  are  made,  of  which  it  is  suscep 
tible,  will  be  an  edifice  of  first  rate  dignity. 
Whenever  it  shall  be  finished  with  the  proper 
ornaments  belonging  to  it  (which  will  not  be 
in  this  age),  it  will  be  worthy  of  being  ex 
hibited  alongside  the  most  celebrated  remains 
of  antiquity.  Its  extreme  convenience  has 
acquired  it  universal  approbation. — To  WILLIAM 
SHORT.  FORD  ED.,  v,  136.  (1789.) 

457.  -  — .     The  capitol  in  the  city  of 

Richmond,  in  Virginia,  is  the  model  of  the 
Temples  of  F.rectheus  at  Athens,  of  Balbec, 
and  of  the  Maison  quarree  of  Nismes.  All  of 
which  are  nearly  of  the  same  form  and  pro 
portions,  and  are  considered  as  the  most  per 
fect  examples  of  cubic  architecture,  as  the 


Architecture 
Aristocracy 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


48 


Pantheon  of  Rome  is  of  the  spherical.  Their 
dimensions  not  being  sufficient  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Capitol,  they  were  enlarged,  but  their 
proportions  rigorously  observed.  The  Capitol 
is  of  brick,  one  hundred  and  thirty  four  feet 
long,  seventy  feet  wide,  and  forty-five  feet  high, 
exclusive  of  the  basement.  Twenty-eight  feet 
of  its  length  is  occupied  by  a  portico  of  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  house,  showing  six 
columns  in  front,  and  two  intercolonnations  in 
flank.  It  is  of  a  single  order,  which  is  Ionic ; 
its  columns  four  feet  two  inches  diameter,  and 
their  entablature  running  round  the  whole 
building.  The  portico  is  crowned  by  a  pedi 
ment,  the  height  of  which  is  two-ninths  of  its 
span. — JEFFERSON  MANUSCRIPTS,  ix,  446. 

458.  ARCHITECTURE,  Washington 
Capitol. — I  have  had  under  consideration 
Mr.  Hallet's  plans  for  the  Capitol,  which  un 
doubtedly  have  a  great  deal  of  merit.  Dr. 
Thornton  has  also  given  me  a  view  of  his.  * 
*  *  The  grandeur,  simplicity  and  beauty  of 
the  exterior,  the  propriety  with  which  the  apart 
ments  are  distributed,  and  economy  in  the  mass 
of  the  whole  structure,  will,  I  doubt  not,  give 
it  a  preference  in  your  eyes,  as  it  has  done  in 
mine  and  those  of  several  others  whom  I  have 
consulted.  *  *  *  Some  difficulty  arises  with  re 
spect  to  Mr.  Hallet,  who  you  know  was  in 
some  degree  led  into  his  plan  by  ideas  we  all 
expressed  to  him.  This  ought  not  to  induce 
us  to  prefer  it  to  a  better  ;  but  while  he  is 
liberally  rewarded  for  the  time  and  labor  he 
has  expended  on  it,  his  feelings  should  be  saved 
and  soothed  as  much  as  possible. — To  THE 
WASHINGTON  COMMISSIONERS,  iii,  507.  (i793-) 

459. .  Dr.  Thornton's  plan  of  a 

Capitol  has  *  *  *  so  captivated  the  eyes  and 
judgment  of  all  as  to  leave  no  doubt  you  will 
prefer  it.  *  *  *  Among  its  admirers  none  is 
more  decided  than  he  [Washington]  whose  de 
cision  is  most  important.  It  is  simple,  noble, 
beautiful,  excellently  distributed,  and  moderate 
in  size.  *  *  *  A  just  respect  for  the  right 
of  approbation  in  the  commissioners  will  pre 
vent  any  formal  decision  in  the  President  till 
the  plan  shall  be  laid  before  you  and  be  ap 
proved  by  you. — To  MR.  CARROLL,  iii,  508. 
(Pa.,  1793.) 

460. .  The  Representative's  cham 
ber  will  remain  a  durable  monument  of 
your  talents  as  an  architect.  *  *  *  The  Senate 
room  I  have  never  seen. — To  MR.  LATROBE.  vi, 
75.  (M.,  1812.) 

461. .  I  shall  live  in  the  hope 

that  the  day  will  come  when  an  opportunity 
will  be  given  you  of  finishing  the  middle  build 
ing  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  two  wings,  and 
worthy  of  the  first  temple  dedicated  to  the  sov 
ereignty  of  the  people,  embellishing  with 
Athenian  taste  the  course  of  a  nation  looking 
far  beyond  the  range  of  Athenian  destinies. — 
To  MR.  LATROBE.  vi,  75-  (M.,  1812.)  See 
CAPITOL(U.  S.  )and  WASHINGTON  CITY. 

462.  ARCHITECTURE,  Williamsburg 
Capitol.— The  only  public  buildings  worthy 
mention  [in  Virginia]  are  the  Capitol,  the 
Palace,  the  College,  and  the  Hospital  for  Luna 
tics,  all  of  them  in  Williamsburg,  heretofore 
the  seat  of  our  government.  The  Capitol  is  a 
light  and  airy  structure,  with  a  portico  in  front 
of  two  orders,  the  lower  of  which,  being  Doric, 
is  tolerably  just  in  its  proportions  and  orna 
ments,  save  only  that  the  intercolonnations  are 
too  large.  The  upper  is  Ionic,  much  too  small 
for  that  on  which  it  is  mounted,  its  ornaments 
not  proper  to  the  order,  nor  proportioned  within 


themselves.  It  is  crowned  with  a  pediment, 
which  is  too  large  for  its  span.  Yet,  on  the 
whole,  it  is  the  most  pleasing  piece  of  architec 
ture  we  have.  The  Palace  is  not  handsome  with 
out,  but  it  is  spacious  and  commodious  within, 
is  prettily  situated,  arid  with  the  grounds  an 
nexed  to  it,  is  capable  of  being  made  an  ele 
gant  seat.  The  College  and  Hospital  are  rude, 
misshapen  piles,  which,  but  that  they  have 
roofs,  would  be  taken  for  brick-kilns.  There 
are  no  other  public  buildings  but  churches  and 
court-houses,  in  which  no  attempts  are  made 
at  elegance.  Indeed,  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
execute  such  an  attempt,  as  a  workman  could 
scarcely  be  found  here  capable  of  drawing  an 
order. — NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,  viii,  394.  FORD 
ED.,  iii,  257.  (1782.) 

463.  ARISTOCRACY,  Artificial  vs. 
Natural. — There  is  a  natural  aristocracy 
among  men.  The  grounds  of  this  are  virtue 
and  talents.  Formerly,  bodily  powers  gave 
place  among  the  aristoi.  But  since  the  in 
vention  of  gunpowder  has  armed  the  weak  as 
well  as  the  strong  with  missile  death,  bodily 
strength,  like  beauty,  good  humor,  politeness 
and  other  accomplishments,  has  become  but 
an  auxiliary  ground  of  distinction.  There  is, 
also,  an  artificial  aristocracy,  founded  on 
wealth  and  birth,  without  either  virtue  or  tal 
ents  :  for  with  these  it  would  belong  to  the 
first  class.  The  natural  aristocracy  I  consider 
as  the  most  precious  gift  of  nature  for  the  in 
struction,  the  trusts,  and  government  of  so 
ciety.  And  indeed,  it  would  have  been  in 
consistent  in  creation  to  have  formed  man  for 
the  social  state,  and  not  to  have  provided  vir 
tue  and  wisdom  enough  to  manage  the  con 
cerns  of  the  society.  May  we  not  even  say, 
that  that  form  of  government  is  the  best, 
which  provides  the  most  effectually  for  a  pure 
selection  of  these  natural  aristoi  into  the  of 
fices  of  government?  The  artificial  aristoc 
racy  is  a  mischievous  ingredient  in  govern 
ment,  and  provision  should  be  made  to  pre 
vent  its  ascendency.  On  the  question,  what 
is  the  best  provision,  you  and  I  differ ;  but  we 
differ  as  rational  friends,  using  the  free  exer 
cise  of  our  own  reason,  and  mutually  indulg 
ing  its  errors.  You  think  it  best  to  put  the 
pseudo-aristoi  into  a  separate  chamber  of  leg 
islation,  where  they  may  be  hindered  from 
doing  mischief  by  their  coordinate  branches 
and  where,  also,  they  may  be  a  protection  to 
wealth  against  the  agrarian  and  plundering  en 
terprises  of  the  majority  of  the  people.  I  think 
that  to  give  them  power  in  order  to  prevent 
them  from  doing  mischief,  is  arming  them  for 
it,  and  increasing  instead  of  remedying  the 
evil.  For,  if  the  coordinate  branches  can 
arrest  their  action,  so  may  they  that  of  the 
coordinates.  Mischief  may  be  done  negatively 
as  well  as  positively.  Of  this,  a  cabal  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  has  furnished 
many  proofs.  Nor  do  I  believe  them  neces 
sary  to  protect  the  wealthy;  because  enough 
of  these  will  find  their  way  into  every  branch 
of  the  legislature  to  protect  themselves.  From 
fifteen  to  twenty  legislatures  of  our  own,  in 
action  for  thirty  years  past,  have  proved  that 
no  fears  of  an  equalization  of  property  are  to 
be  apprehended  from  them.  I  think  the  best 
remedy  is  exactly  that  provided  by  all  our 


49 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Aristocracy 


constitutions,  to  leave  to  the  citizens  the  free 
election  and  separation  of  the  aristoi  from  the 
pseudo-aristoi,  of  the  wheat  from  the  chaff. 
In  general  they  will  elect  the  really  good  and 
wise.  In  some  instances,  wealth  may  cor 
rupt,  and  birth  blind  them,  but  not  in  suf 
ficient  degree  to  endanger  the  society. — To 
JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  223.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  425. 
(M.,  1813.) 

464.  ARISTOCRACY,          Banking.— I 
hope   we   shall  *  *  *  crush   in   its  birth   the 
aristocracy    of    our    moneyed    corporations, 
which  dare  already  to  challenge  our  govern 
ment  to  a  trial  of  strength  and  bid  defiance  to 
the  laws  of  our  country. — To  GEORGE  LOGAN. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  69.    (P.  F.,  Nov.  1816.) 

—  ARISTOCRACY,     Cincinnati     Soci 
ety  and.— See  CINCINNATI.. 

465.  ARISTOCRACY,  Despised.— An  in 
dustrious   farmer   occupies   a  more   dignified 
place  in  the  scale  of  beings,  whether  moral 
or  political,  than  a  lazy  lounger,  valuing  him 
self  on  his  family,  too  proud  to  work,  and 
drawing  out  a  miserable  existence  by  eating 
on  that  surplus  of  other  men's  labor,  which 
is  the  sacred  fund  of  the  helpless  poor. — To 
M.  DE  MEUNIER.     ix,  271.     FORD  ED.,  iv,  176. 
(P.,  1786.) 

466.  ARISTOCRACY.  Education  and.— 
The  bill   [of  the  Revised  Code  of  Virginia] 
for   the   more   general   diffusion   of   learning 
proposed  to  divide  every  county  into  wards 
of  five  or  six  miles   square,  like  the    [New 
England]     townships;    to    establish   in  each 
ward  a  free  school  for  reading,  writing  and 
common  arithmetic ;  to  provide  for  the  an 
nual  selection  of  the  best  subjects  from  these 
schools,  who  might  receive,  at  the  public  ex 
pense,  a  higher  degree  of  education  at  a  dis 
trict  school ;  and  from  these  district  schools 
to  select  a  certain  number  of  the  most  prom 
ising  subjects,  to  be  completed  at  an  Univer 
sity,  where  all  the  useful  sciences  should  be 
taught.     Worth  and  genius  would  thus  have 
been  sought  out  from  every  condition  of  life, 
and  completely  prepared  by  education  for  de 
feating  the  competition  of  wealth  and  birth 
for  public  trusts. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,    vi,  225. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  427.    (P.,  1813.) 

467.  -  — .     This    bill    on    education 
would  have  raised  the  mass  of  the  people  to 
the  high  ground  of  moral  respectability  nec 
essary  to  their   own   safety,  and  to  orderly 
government;  and  would  have  completed  the 
great  object  of  qualifying  them  to  secure  the 
veritable  aristoi  for  the  trusts  of  government 
to    the    exclusion    of    the    pseudalists.  *  *  * 
Although  this  law  has  not  yet  been  acted  on 
but  in  a  small  and  inefficient  degree,  it  is  still 
considered  as  before  the    Legislature,     *    *  * 
and   I   have  great  hope  that  some  patriotic 
spirit  will,  at  a  favorable  moment,  call  it  up, 
and  make  it  the  key  stone  of  the  arch  of  our 
government. — To     JOHN     ADAMS,      vi,    226. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  428.     (M.,  1813.) 

468.  ARISTOCRACY,  Evils  of.— To  de 
tail  the  real  evils  of  aristocracy,   they  must 


be  seen  in  Europe. — To  M.  DE  MEUNIER.  ix, 
267.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  172.  (P.,  1786.) 

469. .     A  due  horror  of  the  evils 

which  flow  from  these  distinctions  could  be 
excited  in  Europe  only,  where  the  dignity  of 
man  is  lost  in  arbitrary  distinctions,  where 
the  human  species  is  classed  into  several 
stages  of  degradation,  where  the  many  are 
crushed  under  the  weight  of  the  few,  and 
where  the  order  established  can  present  to  the 
contemplation  of  a  thinking  being  no  other 
picture  than  that  of  God  Almighty  and  his 
angels  trampling  under  foot  the  host  of  the 
damned. — To  M.  DE  MEUNIER.  ix,  270.  FORD 
ED.,  iv,  175.  (P.,  1786.) 

470. .     To  know  the  mass  of  evil 

which  flows  from  this  fatal  source,  a  person 
must  be  in  France.  He  must  see  the  finest 
soil,  the  finest  climate,  the  most  compact 
state,  the  most  benevolent  character  of  people, 
and  every  earthly  advantage  combined,  in 
sufficient  to  prevent  this  scourge  from  ren 
dering  existence  a  curse  to  twenty-four  out 
of  twenty-five  parts  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
country. — To  GENERAL  WASHINGTON,  ii,  62. 
FORD  ED.,  iv,  329.  (P.,  1786.) 

471.  ARISTOCRACY,     Insurrection 
against. — But  even  in  Europe  a  change  has 
sensibly    taken    place    in  the  mind  of  man. 
Science  has  liberated  the  ideas  of  those  who 
read  and  reflect,  and  the  American  example 
has  kindled  feelings  of  right  in  the  people. 
An   insurrection   has   consequently  begun   of 
science,  talents,  and  courage,  against  rank  and 
birth,   which  have   fallen   into  contempt.     It 
has  failed  in  its  first  effort,  because  the  mobs 
of  the  cities,  the  instrument  used  for  its  ac 
complishment,  debased  by  ignorance,  poverty 
and  vice,  could  not  be  restrained  to  rational 
action.    But  the  world  will  soon  recover  from 
the  panic  of  this  first  catastrophe.     Science  is 
progressive,    and   talents   and   enterprise   are 
on  the  alert.    Resort  may  be  had  to  the  people 
of  the  country,  a  more  governable  power  from 
their  principles  and  subordination ;  and  rank, 
and  birth,  and  tinsel-aristocracv   will  finally 
shrink  into  insignificance,  even  there.     This, 
however,  we  have  no  right  to  meddle  with.    It 
suffices  for  us,  if  the  moral  and  physical  con 
dition  of  our  own  citizens  qualifies  them  to 
select  the  able  and  good  for  the  direction  of 
their  government,  with  a  recurrence  of  elec 
tions  at  such  short  periods  as  will  enable  them 
to  displace  an  unfaithful  servant,  before  the 
mischief  he  meditates  may  be  irremediable. — 
To  JOHN  ADAMS,    vi,  227.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  420. 
(M.,  1813.) 

_  ARISTOCRACY,  Kings,  Priests  and. 
—See  472. 

472.  ARISTOCRACY,     Liberty     and.— 
The  complicated  organization  of  kings,  nobles, 
and  priests,  is  not  the  wisest  or  best  to  effect 
the  happiness  of  associated  man.  *  *  *  The 
trappings   of  such  a  machinery  consume  by 
their  expense  those  earnings  of  industry  they 
were  meant  to  protect,  and,  by  the  inequalities 
they  produce,  expose  liberty  to  sufferance. — 
To  WILLIAM  JOHNSON,     vii,  291.     FORD  ED., 
x,  227.     (M.,  1823.) 


Aristocracy 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


473.  ARISTOCRACY,     Religious.— The 

law  for  religious  freedom,  *  *  *  put  down 
the  aristocracy  of  the  clergy  [in  Vir 
ginia  ]  and  restored  to  the  citizen  the  free 
dom  of  the  mind. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  226. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  428.  (M.,  1813.) 

474.  ARISTOCRACY,  Repressed  by.— A 

heavy  aristocracy  and  corruption  are  two 
bridles  in  the  mouths  of  the  Irish  which  will 
prevent  them  from  making  any  effectual  ef 
forts  against  their  masters. — To  JAMES  MAD 
ISON.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  38.  (P.,  1785.) 

475.  ARISTOCRACY,  Reverence  for.— 

From  what  I  have  seen  of  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  myself,  and  still  more^from  what 
I  have  heard,  and  the  character  given  of  the 
former  by  yourself,  who  know  them  so 
much  better,  there  seems  to  be  in  those  two 
States  a  traditionary  reverence  for  certain 
families,  which  has  rendered  the  offices  of  the 
government  nearly  hereditary  in  those  fam 
ilies.  I  presume  that  from  an  early  period  of 
your  history,  members  of  those  families  hap 
pening  to  possess  virtue  and  talents,  have 
honestly  exercised  them  for  the  good  of  the 
people,  and  by  their  services  have  endeared 
their  names  to  them.  In  coupling  Connecti 
cut  with  you,  I  mean  it  politically  only,  not 
morally.  For  haying  made  the  Bible  the  com 
mon  law  of  their  land,  they  seem  to  have 
modeled  their  morality  on  the  story  of  Jacob 
and  Laban.  But  although  this  hereditary  suc 
cession  to  office  with  you,  may,  in  some  de 
gree,  be  founded  in  real  family  merit,  yet  in 
a  much  higher  degree,  it  has  proceeded  from 
your  strict  alliance  of  Church  and  State. 
Those  families  are  canonized  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people  on  common  principles,  "  you  tickle 
me,  and  I  will  tickle  you."— To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
vi,  224.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  426.  (M.,  1813.) 

476.  ARISTOCRACY,    Royalty    and.— 
The   [French]    aristocracy    [in    1788-9]     was 
cemented  by  a  common  principle  of  preserving 
the  ancient  regime,   or  whatever   should  be 
nearest  to  it.     Making  this  their  Polar  star, 
they  moved  in  phalanx,  gave  preponderance 
on  every  question  to  the  minorities  of  the  Pa 
triots,  and  always  to  those  who  advocated  the 
least  change. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY,    i,  104.    FORD 

ED.,  i,   144.      (l82I.) 

—    ARISTOCRACY,     Trappings     of.— 
See  472- 

477.  ARISTOCRACY,      Unpopular.— In 
Virginia,  we  have  no  traditional  reverence  for 
certain  families.    Our  clergy,  before  the  Rev 
olution,    having   been   secured   against    rival- 
ship  by  fixed  salaries,  did  not  give  themselves 
the  trouble  of  acquiring  influence  over  the 
people.     Of  wealth,  there  were  great  accum 
ulations  in  particular  families,  handed  down 
from    generation    to    generation,    under    the 
English  law  of  entails.     But  the  only  object 
of  ambition  for  the  wealthy  was  a  seat  in  the 
King's  council.     All  their  court  was  paid  to 
the  crown  and  its  creatures;  and  they  Philip- 
ised  in  all  collisions  between  the  King  and 
the  people.    Hence  they  were  unpopular ;  and 
that  unpopularity  continues  attached  to  their 


names.  A  Randolph,  a  Carter,  or  a  Burwell 
must  have  great  personal  superiority  over  a 
common  competitor  to  be  elected  by  the 
people  even  at  this  day. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi, 
224.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  426.  (M.,  1813.) 

478.  ARISTOCRACY,      Uprooting.— At 

the  first  session  of  our  Legislature  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  we  passed  a 
law  abolishing  entails.  And  this  was  fol 
lowed  by  one  abolishing  the  privilege  of  prim 
ogeniture,  and  dividing  the  lands  of  intes 
tates  equally  among  all  the  children,  or  other 
representatives.  These  laws,  drawn  by  myself, 
laid  the  axe  to  the  root  of  pseudo-aristocracy. 
And  had  another  which  I  had  prepared  been 
adopted  by  the  Legislature,  our  work  would 
have  been  complete.  It  was  a  bill  for  the  more 
general  diffusion  of  learning. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  vi,  225.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  427.  (M., 
1813.) 

479. .     I     considered     four     of 

these  bills  [of  the  Revised  Code  of  Virginia] 
*  *  *  as  forming  a  system  by  which  every 
fibre  would  be  eradicated  of  ancient  or  future 
aristocracy;  and  a  foundation  laid  for  a  gov 
ernment  truly  republican.  The  repeal  of  the 
laws  of  entail  would  prevent  the  accumula 
tion  and  perpetuation  of  wealth,  in  select  fam 
ilies,  and  preserve  the  soil  of  the  country  from 
being  daily  more  and  more  absorbed  in  mort 
main.  The  abolition  of  primogeniture,  and 
equal  partition  of  inheritances  removed  the 
feudal  and  unnatural  distinctions  which  made 
one  member  of  every  family  rich,  and  all  the 
rest  poor,  substituting  equal  partition,  the 
best  of  all  Agrarian  laws.  The  restoration  of 
the  rights  of  conscience  relieved  the  people 
from  taxation  for  the  support  of  a  religion  not 
theirs;  for  the  Establishment  was  truly  of 
the  religion  of  the  rich,  the  dissenting  sects 
being  entirely  composed  of  the  less  wealthy 
people ;  and  these,  by  the  bill  for  a  general 
education,  would  be  qualified  to  understand 
their  rights,  to  maintain  them,  and  to  exer 
cise  with  intelligence  their  parts  in  self-gov 
ernment  ;  and  all  this  would  be  effected  with 
out  the  violation  of  a  single  natural  right  of 
any  one  individual  citizen. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
i,  49.  FORD  ED.,  i,  68.  (1821.) 

480.  ARISTOCRACY  IN"  VIRGINIA.— 

To  state  the  difference  between  the  classes  of 
society  and  the  lines  of  demarcation  which 
separated  them  [in  Virginia]  would  be  diffi 
cult.  The  law  admitted  none  except  as  to  our 
twelve  counsellors.  Yet  in  a  country  insu 
lated  from  the  European  world,  insulated  from 
its  sister  colonies,  with  whom  there  was 
scarcely  any  intercourse,  little  visited  by  for 
eigners,  and  having  little  matter  to  act  upon 
within  itself,  certain  families  had  risen  to 
splendor  by  wealth  and  the  preservation  of  it 
from  generation  to  generation  under  the  law 
of  entails ;  some  had  produced  a  series  of 
men  of  talents ;  families  in  general  had  re 
mained  stationary  on  the  grounds  of  their 
forefathers,  for  there  was  no  emigration  to  the 
westward  in  those  days ;  the  wild  Irish,  who 
had  gotten  possession  of  the  valley  between 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  North  Mountain,  forming 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Aristocracy 
Arms 


a  barrier  over  which  none  ventured  to  leap, 
and  would  still  less  venture  to  settle  among. 
In  such  a  state  of  things,  scarcely  admitting 
any  change  of  station,  society  would  settle  it 
self  down  into  several  strata,  separated  by  no 
marked  lines,  but  shading  off  imperceptibly 
from  top  to  bottom,  nothing  disturbing  the 
order  of  their  repose.  There  were  there  aris 
tocrats,  half-breeds,  pretenders,  a  solid  yeo 
manry,  looking  askance  at  those  above  yet 
venturing  to  jostle  them,  and  last  and  lowest, 
a  feculum  of  beings  called  overseers,  the  most 
abject,  degraded  and  unprincipled  race,  al 
ways  cap  in  hand  to  the  Dons  who  employed 
them,  and  furnishing  materials  for  the  exer 
cise  of  their  pride,  insolence  and  spirit  of 
domination.— To  WILLIAM  WIRT.  vi,  484. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  473.  (M.,  1815.) 

481. .     You  surprise  me  with  the 

account  you  give  of  the  strength  of  family 
distinction  still  existing  in  Massachusetts. 
With  us  it  is  so  totally  extinguished,  that  not 
a  spark  of  it  is  to  be  found  but  working  in  the 
hearts  of  some  of  our  old  tories ;  but  all  bigot 
ries  hang  to  one  another,  and  this  in  the  East 
ern  States  hangs,  as  I  suspect,  to  that  of  the 
priesthood.  Here  youth,  beauty,  mind  and 
manners,  are  more  valued  than  a  pedigree. — 
To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  305.  (M.,  1814.) 

482.  ARISTOCRACY,     Virtuous.— Na 
ture   has   wisely   provided   an   aristocracy   of 
virtue  and  talent  for  the  direction  of  the  in 
terests  of  society,  and  scattered  it  with  equal 
hand  through  all  its  conditions. — AUTOBIOG 
RAPHY,    i,  36.    FORD  ED.,  i,  49.    (1821.) 

483.  ARISTOCRACY   OF   WEALTH.— 
An  aristocracy  of  wealth  [is]  of  more  harm 
and  danger  than  benefit  to  society. — AUTO 
BIOGRAPHY,     i,  36.     FORD  ED.,  i,  49.     (1821.) 

484.  ARISTOCRATS,      Impotent.— We, 
too.  have  our  aristocrats  and  monocrats,  and 
as  they  float  on  the  surface,  they  show  much 
though  they  weigh  little. — To  J.  P.  BRISSOT 
DE  WARVILLE.    FORD  ED.,  vi,  249.    (Pa.,  1793.) 

485.  ARISTOCRATS,  The  People  and.— 
Aristocrats  fear  the  people,  and  wish  to  trans 
fer  all  power  to  the  higher  classes  of  society. 
— To  WILLIAM  SHORT,   vii,  391.    FORD  ED.,  x, 
335-    (M.,  1825.) 

486.  ARISTOTLE,      Writings      of.— So 
different  was  the  style  of  society  then,  and 
with  those  people,  from  what  it  is  now  and 
with  us,  that  I  think  little  edification  can  be 
obtained  from  their  writings  on  the  subject  of 
government.  They  had  just  ideas  of  the  value 
of  personal   liberty,   but  none  at  all  of  the 
structure   of  government  best  calculated   to 
preserve  it.     They  knew  no  medium  between 
a  democracy  (the  only  pure  republic,  but  im 
practicable  beyond  the  limits  of  a  town)  and 
an  abandonment  of  themselves  to  an  aristoc 
racy,  or  a  tyranny  independent  of  the  people. 
It  seems  not  to  have  occurred  that  where  the 
citizens  can  not  meet  to  transact  their  business 
in  person,  they  alone  have  the  right  to  choose 
the  agents  who  shall  transact  it ;  and  that  in 
this  way  a  republican,  or  popular  government, 
of  the  second  grade  of  purity,  may  be  exer 


cised  over  any  extent  of  country.  The  full 
experiment  of  a  government,  democratical, 
but  representative,  was  and  is  still  reserved 
for  us.  *  *  *  The  introduction  of  this  new 
principle  of  representative  democracy  has  ren 
dered  useless  almost  everything  written  before 
on  the  structure  of  government;  and,  in  a 
great  measure,  relieves  our  regret,  if  the  po 
litical  writings  of  Aristotle,  or  of  any  other 
ancient,  have  been  lost,  or  are  unfaithfully 
rendered  or  explained  to  us. — To  ISAAC  H. 
TIFFANY,  vii,  32.  (M.,  1816.) 

—  ARITHMETIC.— See  MATHEMATICS. 

487.  ARMS,  Loan  of.— I  am  in  hopes  that 
your    State    [New    York]    will    provide   by    the 
loan   of   arms   for  your   immediate   safety. — To 
JACOB  J.   BROWN,     v,   240.     (W.   1808.) 

488.  -  — .     I  enclose  you    *    *    *    an 
application   from  *  *  *  citizens  of   New   York, 
residing   on   the    St.    Lawrence    and    Lake    On 
tario,   setting   forth   their   defenceless   situation 
for    the    want    of    arms,    and    praying    to    be 
furnished    from   the   magazines   of   the    United 
States.     Similar   applications   from   other   parts 
of   our   frontier   in   every   direction   have   suffi 
ciently  shown  that  did  the  laws  permit  such  a 
disposition   of  the  arms  of  the   United   States, 
their  magazines  would  be  completely  exhausted, 
and  nothing  would  remain  for  actual  war.     But 
it  is  only  when  troops  take  the  field,  that  the 
arms  of  the  United  States  can  be  delivered  to 
them.     For  the  ordinary  safety  of  the  citizens 
of  the  several  States,  whether  against  dangers 
within   or   without,   their   reliance   must   be   on 
the   means   to   be  provided  by  their  respective 
States.      Under     the     circumstances     I      have 
thought  it  my  duty  to  transmit  to  you  the  rep 
resentation  received,  not  doubting  that  you  will 
have  done  for  the  safety  of  our  fellow  citizens, 
on   a   part   of   our   frontier   so    interesting   and 
so  much  exposed,  what  their  situation  requires, 
and  the  means  under  your  control  may  permit. 
— To     GOVERNOR     TOMPKINS.     v,     238.      (W., 
1808.) 

489.  ARMS,  Right  to  bear.— No  freeman 
shall  be  debarred  the  use  of  arms  [within  his 
own  lands].* — PROPOSED  VA.   CONSTITUTION. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  27.     (June,  1776.) 

—ARMS     OF     CABOT     FAMILY.— See 

BIRDS. 

490.  ARMS,   Device  for  the  American 

States. — A  proper  device  (instead  of  arms) 
for  the  American  states  united  would  be  the 
Father  presenting  the  bundle  of  rods  to  his 
sons.  The  motto  "  Insuperabiles  si  Insepara- 
biles " ,  an  answer  given  in  part  to  the  H.  of 
Lds  &  Comm.  4.  Inst.  35.  He  cites  4.  H.  6. 
ru.  12.  parl.  rolls,  which  I  suppose  was  the  time 
it  happd.  f — FORD  ED.,  i,  420. 

*  Brackets  by  Jefferson.— EDITOR. 

t  This  is  a  note  written  in  Jefferson's  copy  of  the 
Virginia  Almanack  for — 1774.  All  his  other  entries  in 
this  volume  are  contemporary  with  the  date  of  the  al 
manac,  and  if,  as  all  the  internal  evidence  indicates, 
this  was  also  written  at  that  time,  it  is  not  merely  in 
teresting  as  a  proposed  emblem,  but  even  more  so  as 
the  earliest  reference  to  the  u  American  States."  In  a 
letter  of  John  Adams  (Familiar  Letters,  211),  Aug.  4, 
1776,  on  the  subject  of  the  national  arms,  is  the  follow 
ing  :  "  Mr.  Jefferson  proposed  the  children  of  Israel 
in  the  wilderness,  led  by  a  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar 
of  fire  by  night ;  and  on  the  other  side,  Hengist  and 
Horsa,  the  Saxon  chiefs  from  whom  we  claim  the 
honor  of  being  descended,  and  whose  political  prin 
ciples  and  forms  of  government  we  have  assumed." 
—NOTE  IN  FORD'S  ED. 


Arms 
Army 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


491.  ABMS,  Device  for  Virginia  State. 
—I  like  the  device  of  the  first  side  of  the  seal 
[for  Virginia]    much.     The  second   I   think,   is 
too  much  crowded,  nor  is  the  design  so  strik 
ing.     But  for   God's   sake   what   is   the   "  Deus 
twbis   haze   otia   facit  "  !     It  puzzles   everybody 
here.     If  my  country  really  enjoys  that  otium 
it    is    singular,    as    every    other    Colony    seems 
to  be  hard  struggling.     I   think  it  was   agreed 
on     before     Dunmore's     flight     from     Gwyn's 
Island,  so  that  it  can  hardly  be  referred  to  the 
temporary   holiday   that   was   given   you.     This 
device    is    too    enigmatical.      Since    it    puzzles 
now,  it  will  be  absolutely  insoluble  fifty  years 
hence. — To  JOHN  PAGE.     FORD  ED.,  ii,  70.     (Pa., 
1776.) 

492.  ARMS  OF  JEFFERSON  FAMILY. 
—Search  the  Herald's  office  for  the  arms  of 
my  family.     I  have  what  I  have  been  told  were 
the  family  arms,  but  on  what  authority  I  know 
not.     It  is  possible  there  may  be  none.     If  so, 
I   would   with   your   assistance   become   a   pur 
chaser,  having  Sterne's  word  for  it  that  a  coat 
of  arms  may  be  purchased  as  cheap  as  any  other 
coat. — To   THOMAS   ADAMS.     FORD   ED.,   i,   388. 
(M.,  1771.) 

493.  ARMSTRONG     (John),     Hostility 
against. — An   unjust   hostility   against   Gen 
eral  Armstrong  will,   I   am   afraid,   show   itself 
whenever    any    treaty    [with    Spain]    made    by 
him    shall     be     offered     for     ratification. — To 
WILSON    C.    NICHOLAS,     v,    4.     FORD    ED.,   viii. 
435.     (W.,  April  1806.) 

494.  ARMSTRONG     (John),     Secretary 
of  War. — I  have  long  ago  in  my  heart  con 
gratulated    my    country    on    your    call    to    the 
place    you    now    occupy.  *  *  *     Whatever   you 
do  in  office,  I  know  will    be  honestly  and  ably 
done,    and    although    we   who    do    not    see   the 
whole    ground    may    sometimes    impute    error, 
it    will    be    because    we,    not    you,    are    in    the 
wrong  ;  or  because  your  views  are  defeated  by 
the  wickedness  or  inc9mpetence   of  those  you 
are  obliged  to  trust  with  their  execution. — To 
GENERAL  JOHN  ARMSTRONG,     vi,  103.     (M.,  Feb. 
1813-) 

495. .  Armstrong  is  presumptu 
ous,  obstinate  and  injudicious. — To  J.  W. 
EPPES.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  484.  (M.,  1814.) 

496.  ARMY,    Adverse    to    large.— The 

spirit  of  this  country  is  totally  adverse  to  a 
large  military  force. — To  CHANDLER  PRICE. 
v,  47-  (W.,  1807.) 

497.  ARMY,    Control   over.— I   like   the 
declaration  of  rights  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  I 
should  have  been  for  going  further.     For  in 
stance,  the  following  alterations  and  additions 
would    have    pleased    me:  *  *  *  Article    10. 
All  troops  of  the  United  States  shall  stand 
ipso  facto  disbanded,  at  the  expiration  of  the 
term  for  which  their  pay  and  subsistence  shall 
have  been  last  voted  by  Congress,  and  all  of 
ficers  and  soldiers,  not  natives  of^the^United 
States,  shall  be  incapable  of  serving  in  their 
armies  by  land  except  during  a  foreign  war. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON,     iii,  101.     FORD  ED.,  v, 
113.     (P.,  Aug.  1789.) 

498.  ARMY,  Deserters.— Deserters  [Brit 
ish]  ought  never  to  be  enlisted  [by  us].— To 
JAMES  MADISON.  FORD  ED v  ix,  128.   (M.,  1807.) 

499.  ARMY,  Deserters  from  Enemy's. 
— American      citizens,    *    *    *    whether    im 


pressed  or  enlisted  into  the  British  service, 
*  *  *  [are]  equally  right  in  returning  to 
:he  duties  they  owe  their  own  country. — To 
JAMES  MADISON,  v,  173.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  128. 
(M.,  Aug.  1807.) 

500. .  Resolved,  that  [Con 
gress]  will  give  all  such  of  the  *  *  *  foreign 
[Hessian]  officers  as  shall  leave  the  armies  of 
his  Britannic  Majesty  in  America,  and  choose 
to  become  citizens  of  these  States,  unappro 
priated  lands  in  the  following  quantities  and 
proportions  to  them  and  their  heirs  in  abso 
lute  dominion.* — CONGRESS  RESOLUTION.  FORD 
ED.,  ii,  89.  (August  1776.) 

501.  ARMY,  Discipline  of.— The  British 
consider    our    army  *  *  *  a    rude,    undisci 
plined    rabble.      I    hope  they  will  find  it  a 
Bunker's    Hill    rabble. — To    FRANCIS    EPPES. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  77.     (Pa.,  Aug.  1776.) 

502.  ARMY,     Enlistments     in.— Tardy 
enlistments  proceed  from  the  happiness  of  our 
people  at  home. — To  JAMES  MONROE,    vi,  130. 
(M.,  June  1813.) 

503. .    Our  men  are  so  happy  at 

home  that  they  will  not  hire  themselves  to 
be  shot  at  for  a  shilling  a  day.  Hence  we  can 
have  no  standing  armies  for  defence,  because 
we  have  no  paupers  to  furnish  the  materials. 
—To  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  379.  (M.,  1814.) 

504.  ARMY,  Fear  of.— How  happy  that 
our    army    had  been  disbanded    [before  the 
Presidential    crisis    of    1801]  !     What    might 
have  happened  otherwise  seems  rather  a  sub 
ject     of     reflection     than     explanation. — To 
NATHANIEL  NILES.     iv,  377.     FORD  ED.,  viii, 
24.    (W.,  March  1801.) 

505.  ARMY,   Increase   of. — An  act  has 

passed  for  raising  upon  the  regular  establish 
ment  for  the  war  3000  additional  troops  and  a 
corps  of  300  more,  making  in  the  whole  about 
5000  men.  To  this  I  was  opposed  from  a  con 
viction  they  were  useless  and  that  1200  or 
1500  woodsmen  would  soon  end  the  [Indian] 
war,  and  at  a  trifling  expense. — To  ARCHI 
BALD  STUART.  FORD  ED.,  v,  454.  (Pa.,  March 
1792.) 

506. .    It  is  agreed    [in  cabinet] 

that  about  15000  regular  troops  will  be  req 
uisite  for  garrisons,  and  about  as  many  more 
as  a  disposable  force,  making  in  the  whole 
30,000  regulars. — ANAS.  FORD  ED.,  i,  329. 
(July  1807.) 

507.    .    We    are    raising    some 

regulars  in  addition  to  our  present  force,  for 
garrisoning  our  seaports,  and  forming  a  nu 
cleus  for  the  militia  to  gather  to. — To  GEN 
ERAL  KOSCIUSKO.     v,  282.     (W.,  May  1808.) 

508.  ARMY,   Inefficiency  in.— I   thank 
you  for  the  military  manuals.  *  *  *  This  is 
the  sort  of  book  most  needed  in  our  country, 
where  even  the  elements  of  tactics  are  un 
known.     The  young  have  never  seen  service, 
the  old  are  past  it,  and  of  those  among  them 
who  are  not  superannuated  themselves,  their 

*  Jefferson,  Franklin  and  Adams  reported  this  res 
olution  which  was  adopted.— EDITOR. 


53 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Army 


science  is  become  so. — To  WILLIAM  DUANE. 
vi,  75.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  365.  (M.,  1812.) 

509.  ARMY,  A  mercenary.— He  [George 
III.]  has  endeavored  to  pervert  the  exercise 
of  the  kingly  office  in  Virginia  into  a  detest 
able  and  insupportable  tyranny  *  *  *  by 
transporting  at  this  time  a  large  army  of  for 
eign  mercenaries  [to  complete]  the  works  of 
death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun 
with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy  so 
unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. — 
PROPOSED  VA.  CONSTITUTION.  FORD  ED.,  ii, 
ii.  (June  1776.) 

510. .  He  is  at  this  time,  trans 
porting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries 
to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circum 
stances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy*  unworthy  the 
head  of  a  civilized  nation. — DECLARATION  OF 
INDEPENDENCE  AS  DRAWN  BY  JEFFERSON. 

511. .    At    this    very    time,    too, 

they  [British  people]  are  permitting  their 
chief  magistrate  to  send  over  not  only  sol 
diers  of  our  common  blood,  but  Scotch  and 
foreign  mercenaries  to  invade  and  destroy  us. 
— DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AS  DRAWN 
BY  JEFFERSON. 

512.  ARMY,  Morality  in.— It  is  more  a 
subject  of  joy  [than  of  regret]  that  we  have  so 
few  of  the  desperate  characters  which  com 
pose  modern  regular  armies.     But  it  proves 
more  forcibly  the  necessity  of  obliging  every 
citizen  to  be  a  soldier ;  this  was  the  case  with 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  must  be  that  of 
every  free  State.     Where  there  is  no  oppres 
sion  there  can  be  no  pauper  hirelings. — To 
JAMES  MONROE,     vi,  130.     (M.,  June  1813.) 

513.  ARMY,  An  obedient.— Some  think 
the  [French]  army  could  not  be  depended  on 
by  the  government ;  but  the  breaking  men  to 
military  discipline,  is  breaking  their  spirits  to 
principles    of    passive    obedience. — To    JOHN 
JAY.    ii,  392.     (P.,  1788.) 

514.  ARMY,   Obligations  to  the.— We 
feel   with  you  our  obligations  to  the  army 
in  general,  and  will  particularly  charge  our 
selves  with  the  interests  of  those  confidential 
officers,   who  have  attended  your  person  to 
this  affecting  moment. — CONGRESS  TO  WASH 
INGTON      SURRENDERING     HIS     COMMISSION. 
(Dec.  1783.) 

515.  ARMY,  Overpowering.— There    is 
neither  head  nor  body  in  the  [French]  nation 
to   promise    a    successful    opposition    to    two 
hundred  thousand  regular  troops.— To  JOHN 
JAY.    ii,  392.     (P.,  1788.) 

516.  ARMY,  The  People  as  an.— I  am 
satisfied  the  good  sense  of  the  people  is  the 
strongest    army    our    government     can     ever 
have,    and    that   it   will   not   fail   them.— To 
WILLIAM  CARMICHAEL.     ii,  81.     FORD  ED.,  iv, 
346.     (P.,  1786.) 

*  Congress  inserted  after  "  perfidy "  the  words 
u  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages  and 
totally .  "—EDITOR. 

t  Congress  struck  out  this  passage.— EDITOR. 


517.   — .     I    am   persuaded   myself 

that  the  good   sense  of  the  people  will  al 
ways   be   found   to   be   the   best   Army. — To 
EDWARD  CARRINGTON.     ii,  99.     FORD  ED.,  iv, 
359-      (P.,    1787.) 

518.  ARMY,  Reduction  of. — A  statement 
has  been  formed  by  the   Secretary  of  War 
*  *  *  of  all  the  posts  and  stations  where  gar 
risons  will  be  expedient,  and  of  the  number 
of   men    requisite    for   each    garrison.      The 
whole   amount   is   considerably   short  of  the 
present  military  establishment.  For  the  surplus 
no  particular  use  can  be  pointed  out.    For  de 
fence   against   invasion,    their   number   is   as 
nothing;  nor  is  it  conceived  needful  or  safe 
that  a  standing  army  should  be  kept  up  in 
time  of  peace  for  that  purpose. — FIRST  AN 
NUAL  MESSAGE,    viii,  n.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  121. 
(Dec.  1801.) 

519. .    The  army  is  undergoing  a 

chaste  reformation. — To  NATHANIEL  MACON. 
iv,  397.  (W.,  May  1801.) 

520.  — .     The  session  of  the  first 

Congress  convened  since  republicanism  has 
recovered  its  ascendency  *  *  *  will  pretty 
completely  fulfil  all  the  desires  of  the  people. 
They  have  reduced  the  army  *  *  *  to  what 
is  barely  necessary. — To  GENERAL  KOSCIUSKO. 
iv,  430.  (W.,  April  1802.) 

521. — .  We  are  now  actually  en 
gaged  in  reducing  our  military  establishment 
one-third,  and  discharging  one-third  of  our 
officers.  We  keep  in  service  no  more  than 
men  enough  to  garrison  the  small  posts  dis 
persed  at  great  distances  on  our  frontiers, 
which  garrisons  will  generally  consist  of  a 
captain's  company  only,  and  in  no  cases  of 
more  than  two  or  three,  in  not  one,  of  a  suf 
ficient  number  to  require  a  field  officer.  * — To 
GENERAL  KOSCIUSKO.  iv,  430.  (W.,  April 
1802.) 

522.  ARMY,  Regulation  of.— The  wise 
proposition  of  the  Secretary  of  War  for  fill 
ing  our  ranks  with  regulars,  and  putting  our 
militia   into   an   effective   form,   seems   to   be 
laid  aside. — To  M.  CORREA.    vi,    406.       (M., 
Dec.  1814.) 

523.  -  — .    To   supply  the   want   of 
men,    nothing   more   wise   or   efficient   could 
have  been  imagined  than  what  you  proposed. 
It  would  have  filled  our  ranks  with  regulars, 
and  that,  too,  by  throwing  a  just  share  of  the 
burthen  on  the  purses  of  those  whose  per 
sons  are  exempt  either  by  age  or  office;  and 
it  would  have  rendered  our  militia,  like  those 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  a  nation  of  war 
riors. — To  JAMES   MONROE,     vi,   408.     FORD 
ED.,  ix,  497.     (M.,  Jan.  1815.) 

524. .  Nothing  wiser  can  be  de 
vised  than  what  the  Secretary  of  War  (Mon 
roe)  proposed  in  his  report  at  the  commence 
ment  of  Congress.  It  would  have  kept  our 
regular  army  always  of  necessity  full,  and 
by  classing  our  militia  according  to  ages, 
would  have  put  them  into  a  form  ready  for 

*  Kosciusko  had  written  to  Jefferson,  recommend 
ing  Polish  officers  for  employment.— EDITOR. 


Army 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


54 


whatever  service,  distant  or  at  home,  should 
require  them. — To  W.  H.  CRAWFORD,  vi,  418. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  502.  (M.,  Feb.  1815.) 

525.  ARMY,  Seniority  in.— We  received 
from  Colonel  R.  H.  Lee  a  resolution  of  Con 
vention,  recommending  us  to  endeavor  that 
the  promotions  of  the  officers  be  according  to 
seniority  without  regard  to  regiments  or  com 
panies.  In  one  instance,  indeed,  the  Congress 
reserved  to  themselves  a  right  of  departing 
from  seniority;  that  is  where  a  person  either 
out  of  the  line  of  command,  or  in  an  inferior 
part  of  it,  has  displayed  eminent  talents.  Most 
of  the  general  officers  have  been  promoted  in 
this  way.  Without  this  reservation,  the  whole 
continent  must  have  been  supplied  with  gen 
eral  officers  from  the  Eastern  Colonies,  where 
a  large  army  was  formed  and  officered  before 
any  other  colony  had  occasion  to  raise  troops 
at  all,  and  a  number  of  experienced,  able  and 
valuable  officers  must  have  been  lost  to  the 
public  merely  from  the  locality  of  their  situa 
tion. — To  GOVERNOR  PATRICK  HENRY.  FORD 
ED.,  ii,  67.  (Pa.,  1776.) 

526. .    We  [Congress]  wait  your 

recommendation  for  the  two  vacant  majori 
ties.  Pray  regard  militaryment  alone. — To 
JOHN  PAGE.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  88.  (Pa.,  1776.) 


527. 


-.    Several  vacancies  having 


happened  in  our  battalions,  we  [Congress] 
are  unable  to  have  them  filled  for  want  of  a 
list  of  the  officers,  stating  their  seniority.  We 
must  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  furnish  us 
with  one. — To  GOVERNOR  HENRY.  FORD  ED., 
ii,  67.  (Pa.,  1776.) 

528. .    The  unfortunate  obstinacy 

of  the  Senate  in  preferring  the  greatest  block 
head  to  the  greatest  military  genius,  if  one 
day  longer  in  commission,  renders  it  doubly 
important  to  sift  well  the  candidates  for  com 
mand  in  new  corps,  and  to  marshal  them  at 
first,  towards  the  head,  in  proportion  to  their 
qualifications.— To  GENERAL  ARMSTRONG. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  380.  (M.,  Feb.  1813.) 

529.  -  — .    There    is   not,    I    believe, 

a  service  on  earth  where  seniority  is  per 
mitted  to  give  a  right  to  advance  beyond  the 
grade  of  captain. — To  GENERAL  ARMSTRONG. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  380.  (M.,  Feb.  1813.) 

530. .    We  are  doomed.  *  *  *  to 

sacrifice  the  lives  of  our  citizens  by  thousands 
to  this  blind  principle,  for  fear  the  peculiar  in 
terest  and  responsibility  of  our  Executive 
should  not  be  sufficient  to  guard  his  selection 
of  officers  against  favoritism. — To  GENERAL 
ARMSTRONG.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  380.  (M.,  1813.) 

531. — .  When  you  have  new  corps 

to  raise  you  are  free  to  prefer  merit :  and  our 
mechanical  law  of  promotion,  when  once 
men  have  been  set  in  their  places,  makes  it 
most  interesting  indeed  to  place  them  origi 
nally  according  to  their  capacities.  It  is  not 
for  me  even  to  ask  whether  in  the  raw  regi 
ments  now  to  be  raised,  it  would  not  be  ad 
visable  to  draw  from  the  former  the  few 
officers  who  may  already  have  discovered 
military  talent,  and  to  bring  them  forward 


in  the  new  corps  to  those  higher  grades,  to 
which,  in  the  old,  the  blocks  in  their  way  do 
not  permit  you  to  advance  them? — To  GEN 
ERAL  ARMSTRONG.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  380.  (M., 
Feb.  1813.)  See  GENERALS. 

532.  ARMY,  A  standing.— Standing  ar 
mies  [are]  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  [of 
the  Colonies],  and  subversive  of  their  quiet. — 
REPLY  TO  LORD  NORTH'S  PROPOSITION.  FORD 
ED.,  i,  477.  (July  1775.) 

533. .  There  shall  be  no  stand 
ing  army  but  in  time  of  actual  war. — PRO 
POSED  VA.  CONSTITUTION.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  27. 
(June  1776.) 

534 .  He  [George  III.]  has  en 
deavored  to  pervert  the  exercise  of  the  kingly 
office  in  Virginia  into  a  detestable  and  in 
supportable  tyranny  *  *  *  by  [keeping 
among  us],  in  time  of  peace,  standing  armies 
and  ships  of  war. — PROPOSED  VA.  CONSTITU 
TION.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  10.  (June  1776.) 

535. .  He  has  kept  among  us,  in 

times  of  peace,  standing  armies  and  ships  of 
war  *  without  the  consent  of  our  legislatures. 
— DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AS  DRAWN 
BY  JEFFERSON. 

536. .    I  do  not  like  [in  the  new 

Federal  Constitution]  the  omission  of  a  bill  of 
rights,  providing  clearly  and  without  the  aid 
of  sophisms  for  *  *  *  protection 
against  standing  armies. — To  JAMES  MADI 
SON,  ii,  329.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  476.  (P.,  Dec. 
1787.) 

537. .  I  sincerely  rejoice  at  the 

acceptance  of  our  new  Constitution  by  nine 
States.  It  is  a  good  canvas,  on  which  some 
strokes  only  want  retouching.  What  these 
are,  I  think  are  sufficiently  manifested  by  the 
general  voice  from  north  to  south,  which 
calls  for  a  bill  of  rights.  It  seems  pretty 
generally  understood  that  this  should  go  to 
*  *  *  standing  armies.  *  *  *  If  no 
check  can  be  found  to  keep  the  number  of 
standing  troops  within  safe  bounds,  while 
they  are  tolerated  as  far  as  necessary,  aban 
don  them  altogether,  discipline  well  the  mi 
litia,  and  guard  the  magazines  with  them. 
More  than  magazine  guards  will  be  useless  if 
few,  and  dangerous  if  many.  No  European 
nation  can  ever  send  against  us  such  a  regu 
lar  army  as  we  need  fear,  and  it  is  hard  if 
our  militia  are  not  equal  to  those  of  Canada, 
or  Florida. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  ii,  445. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  45.  (P.,  July  1788.) 


538. 


.    By  declaration  of  rights,  I 


mean  one  which  shall  stipulate    * 

standing  armies. — To  A.  DONALD,  ii,  355.  (P., 

1788.) 

539. .  There  are  instruments  so 

dangerous  to  the  rights  of  the  nation,  and 
which  place  them  so  totally  at  the  mercy  of 
their  governors,  that  those  governors, 
whether  legislative  or  executive,  should  be 
restrained  from  keeping  such  instruments  on 
foot,  but  in  well-defined  cases.  Such  an  in- 
*  Congress  struck  out  "  and  ships  of  war." — EDITOR, 


55 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Army 


a    standing    army. — To  DAVID 
iii,  13.     FORD  ED.,  v,  90.     (P., 


strument  is 
HUMPHREYS 
1789.) 

540. .     I  hope  a  militia  bill  will 

be  passed.  Anything  is  preferable  to  nothing, 
as  it  takes  away  one  of  the  arguments  for  a 
standing  army. — To  ARCHIBALD  STUART.  FORD 
ED.,  v,  454.  (Pa.,  1792.) 

541. .    I  am  not  for  a  standing 

army  in  time  of  peace,  which  may  overawe 
the  public  sentiment.— To  ELBRIDGE  GERRY. 
iv,  268.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  328.  (Pa.,  I799-) 

542. .  Bonaparte  has  transferred 

the  destinies  of  the  republic  from  the  civil 
to  the  military  arm.  Some  will  use  this  as  a 
lesson  against  the  practicability  of  republican 
government.  I  read  it  as  a  lesson  against  the 
danger  of  standing  armies. — To  SAMUEL 
ADAMS,  iv,  322.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  425.  (Pa.,  Feb. 
1800.) 

543. .  It  is  not  conceived  need 
ful  or  safe  that  a  standing  army  should  be 
kept  up  in  time  of  peace  for  defence  against 
invasion. — FIRST  ANNUAL  MESSAGE,  viii,  n. 
FORD  ED.,  121.  (1801.) 

544.    .    I    hope     Kentucky     will 

*     *     *     finish  the  matter  [Burr's  enterprise] 
for  the  honor  of  popular  government,  and  the 
discouragement  of  all  arguments  for  standing 
armies.— To      REV.    CHARLES  CLAY,    v,    28. 
FORDED.,  ix,  7.    (W.,  1807.) 

545.    .    We    propose    to    raise 

seven  regiments  only  for  the  present  year,  de 
pending  always  on  our  militia  for  the  opera 
tions  of  the  first  year  of  war.    On  any  other 
plan,  we  should  be  obliged  always  to  keep  a 
large   standing  army.— To   CHARLES    PINCK- 
NEY.    v,  266.     (W.,  March  1808.) 

546. .    The  Greeks  and  Romans 

had  no  standing  armies,  yet  they  defended 
themselves.  The  Greeks  by  their  laws,  and 
the  Romans  by  the  spirit  of  their  people,  took 
care  to  put  into  the  hands  of  their  rulers  no 
such  engine  of  oppression  as  a  standing  army. 
Their  system  was  to  make  every  man  a  sol 
dier,  and  oblige  him  to  repair  to  the  standard 
of  his  country  whenever  that  was  reared. 
This  made  them  invincible;  and  the  same 
remedy  will  make  us  so. — To  THOMAS 
COOPER,  vi,  379-  (M.,  1814.) 

547.  ARMY,    Threatened   by    an.— We 
cannot,  my  lord,  close  with  the  terms  of  that 
Resolution,  [Lord  North's  conciliatory  propo 
sitions]     *    *    *    because  at  the  very  time 
of  requiring  from  us  grants,  they  are  making 
disposition  to  invade  us  with  large  armaments 
by  sea  and  land,  which  is  a  style  of  asking 
gifts    not    reconcilable  to  our  freedom.' — AD 
DRESS  TO  LORD  DUN  MORE.    FORD  ED.,  i,  457. 
(I775-) 

548.  ARMY,  An   unnecessary.— One  of 
my  favorite  ideas  is,  never  to  keep  an  un 
necessary  soldier.— THE  ANAS,  ix,  431.    FORD 
ED.,  i,  198.    (1792-) 

549. .    Were  armies  to  be  raised 

whenever  a  speck  of  war  is  visible  in  our 


horizon,  we  never  should  have  been  without 
them.  Our  resources  would  have  been  ex 
hausted  on  dangers  which  have  never  hap 
pened,  instead  of  being  reserved  for  what  is 
really  to  take  place. — SIXTH  ANNUAL  MES 
SAGE,  viii,  69.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  495.  (Dec. 
1806.) 

550.  ARMY,  An   unauthorized.— When, 
in  the  course  of  the  late  war,  it  became  ex 
pedient   that   a   body   of   Hanoverian   troops 
should  be  brought  over  for  the  defence  of 
Great  Britain,  his  Majesty's  grandfather,  our 
late  sovereign,  did  not  pretend  to  introduce 
them  under  any  authority  he  possessed.    Such 
a  measure  would  have  given  just  alarm  to 
his  subjects  in  Great  Britain,  whose  liberties 
would  not  be  safe  if  armed  men  of  another 
country,    and    of    another    spirit,    might    be 
brought  into  the  realm  at  any  time  without 
the  consent  of  their  legislature.    He,  there 
fore,  applied  to  Parliament,  who  passed  an 
act  for  that  purpose,  limiting  the  number  to 
be  brought  in,  and  the  time  they  were  to  con 
tinue.      In   like   manner   is   his   Majesty   re 
strained  in  every  part  of  the  empire. — RIGHTS 
OF  BRITISH  AMERICA,   i,   140.     FORD  ED.,    i, 
445-    (I774-) 

551.    .    He   has    combined    with 

others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign 
to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by 
our  laws;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of 
pretended    legislation    for    quartering    large 
bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us;  for  pro 
tecting  them  by  a  mock  trial    from    punish 
ment  for  any  murders  which    they    should 
commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  States. — 
DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  AS  DRAWN  BY 
JEFFERSON. 

552 .  He  [George  III.]  has 

endeavored  to  pervert  the  exercise  of  the 
kingly  office  in  Virginia  into  a  detestable  and 
insupportable  tyranny  *  *  *  by  com 
bining  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  foreign 
jurisdiction,  giving  his  assent  to  their  pre 
tended  acts  of  legislation  for  quartering  large 
bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us. — PROPOSED 
VA.  CONSTITUTION.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  10.  (June 
1776.) 

553. .  in  order  to  enforce  [his] 

arbitrary  measures  *  *  *  his  Majesty 
has,  from  time  to  time,  sent  among  us  large 
bodies  of  armed  forces,  not  made  up  of  the 
people  here,  nor  raised  by  authority  of  our 
laws.  Did  his  Majesty  possess  such  a  right 
as  this,  it  might  swallow  up  all  our  other 
rights  whenever  he  should  think  proper.  But 
his  Majesty  has  no  right  to  land  a  single 
armed  man  on  our  shores,  and  those  whom  he 
sends  here  are  liable  to  our  laws  made  for 
the  suppression  and  punishment  of  riots,  and 
unlawful  assemblies ;  or  are  hostile  bodies, 
invading  us  in  defiance  of  the  law. — RIGHTS 
OF  BRITISH  AMERICA,  i,  140.  FORD  ED.,  i,  445. 
(I774-) 

554. .  The  proposition  [of  Lord 

North]  is  altogether  unsatisfactory  *  *  * 
because  it  does  not  propose  to  repeal  the  acts 
of  Parliament  *  *  *  for  quartering  sol- 


Arnold  (Benedict) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


56 


diers  on  us  in  times  of  profound  peace. — RE 
PLY  TO  LORD  NORTH'S  PROPOSITION.  FORD  ED., 
i,  480.  (July  I775-) 

555.  ARMY,   A  volunteer.— [With   re 
spect   to]    the   proposition     for     substituting 
32,000    twelve-month   volunteers    instead    of 
15,000  regulars  as  a  disposable  force,   I  like 
the  idea  much.    It  will,  of  course,  be  a  subject 
of  consideration  when  we  all  meet  again,  but 
I  repeat  that  I  like  it  greatly.— To  GENERAL 
DEARBORN,    v,  155.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  123.     (M., 
Aug.  1807.) 

556.    .    General    Dearborn    has 

sent    me    a    plan    of    a    war    establishment 
for    15,000    regulars    for    garrisons,    and    in 
stead     of     15,000    others,     as     a     disposable 
force,     to     substitute     32,000     twelve-month 
volunteers,   to  be   exercised   and   paid   three 
months  in  the  year,  and  consequently  cost 
ing   no    more   than   8,000   permanent,    giving 
us  the  benefit  of  32,000  for  any  expedition, 
who    would    be    themselves    nearly    equal    to 
regulars,  but  could  on  occasion  be  put  into 
the  garrisons,  and  the  regulars  employed  in 
the  expedition  prima  facie.    I  like  it  well. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON,    v,   154.    FORD  ED.,  ix, 
123.    (M.,  Aug.  1807.)    See  WAR. 

557.  ARMY,      (French),     Dangerous 

standing.— The  French  flatter  themselves 
they  shall  form  a,  better  Constitution  than  the 
English  one.  I  think  it  will  be  better  in  some 
points — worse  in  others.  *  *  *  It  will 
be  worse,  as  their  situation  obliges  them  to 
keep  up  the  dangerous  machine  of  a  standing 
army. — To  DR.  PRICE,  ii,  557.  (P.,  Jan. 
1789.) 

558.  ARMY  (French),  Decision  by  the. 
— If  the  appeal  to  arms  is  made  fin  France] 
it  will  depend  entirely  on  the  disposition  of 
the  army  whether  it  issue  in  liberty  or  des 
potism. — To  E.  RUTLEDGE.    ii,   435.    FORD  ED., 
v,  42.    (P.,  1788.) 

559.  ARMY    OFFICERS,    Accountabil 
ity    of. — Whereas    it    is    apprehended    that 
sufficient    care    and    attention    hath    not    been 
always   had    by    officers    to    the    cleanliness,    to 
the  health   and  to  the  comfort  of  the  soldiers 
entrusted   to   their   command,     Be   it   therefore 
enacted,  that  so  long  as  any  troops  from  this 
Commonwealth   [Virginia]   shall  be  in  any  ser 
vice  to  the  northward  thereof,  it  shall  and  may 
be   lawful   for  our  delegates   in   Congress,   and 
they    are    hereby    required    from    time    to    time 
to  enquire  into  the  state  and  condition  of  the 
troops,    and   the   conduct   of   the   officers   com 
manding  ;  and  where  any  troops,  raised  in  this 
Commonwealth,  are  upon  duty  within  the  same, 
or     anywhere     to     the     southward,     there     the 
Governor    and    Council    are    required    to    make 
similar  enquiry  by  such  ways  or  means  as  shall 
be  in  their  power  :    and  whensoever  it  shall  be 
found  that  any  officer,  appointed  by  this  Com 
monwealth,    shall    have    been    guilty    of    negli 
gence,    or    want   of    fatherly    care,    of   the    sol 
diers  under  his  command,  they  are  hereby  re 
spectively  required  to  report  to  this  Assembly 
the   whole   truth   of   the   case,   who   hereby   re 
serve  to  themselves  a  power  of  removing  such 
officer ;  and  whenever  they  shall  find  that  such 
troops    shall    have    suffered   through   the   negli 
gence    or    inattention    of   any    officer   of    Conti 


nental  appointment,  they  are,  in  like  manner, 
to  make  report  thereof  to  this  Assembly,  whose 
duty  it  will  be  to  represent  the  same  to  Con 
gress :  and  they  are  further  respectively  re 
quired,  from  time  to  time,  to  procure  and  lay 
before  this  Assembly  exact  returns  of  the 
numbers  and  conditions  of  such  of  their  troops. 
— ARMY  BILL.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  115.  (1776.) 

560.  ARMY      OFFICERS,      Foreign.— I 

believe  I  mentioned  to  you,  on  a  former  occa 
sion,  that  the  last  act  of  Congress  for  raising 
additional  troops  required  that  the  officers, 
should  all  be  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
Should  there  be  war,  however,  I  am  persuaded 
this  policy  must  be  abandoned,  and  that  we 
must  avail  ourselves  of  the  experience  of  other 
nations,  in  certain  lines  of  service  at  least. — 
To  AMELOT  DE  LA  CROIX.  v,  422.  (W.,  Feb 
1809.) 

561.  ARMY    OFFICERS,    Prosecutions 

of.— Many  officers  of  the  army  being  in 
volved  in  the  offence  of  intending  a  military 
enterprise  [Burr's]  against  a  nation  at  peace 
with  the  United  States,  to  remove  the  whole 
without  trial,  by  the  paramount  authority  of  the 
executive,  would  be  a  proceeding  of  unusual 
gravity.  Some  line  must,  therefore,  be  drawn 
to  separate  the  more  from  the  less  guilty.  The 
only  sound  one  which  occurs  to  me  is  between 
those  who  believed  the  enterprise  was  with  the 
approbation  of  the  government,  open  or  secret, 
and  those  who  meant  to  proceed  in  defiance  of 
the  government.  Concealment  would  be  no  line 
at  all,  because  all  concealed  it.  Applying  the 
line  of  defiance  to  the  case  of  Lieutenant  Mead, 
it  does  not  appear  by  any  testimony  I  have  seen, 
that  he  meant  to  proceed  in  defiance  of  the  gov 
ernment,  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  he  was  made 
to  believe  the  government  approved  of  the  ex 
pedition.  If  it  be  objected  that  he  concealed  a 
part  of  what  had  taken  place  in  his  communica 
tions  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  yet  if  a  conceal 
ment  of  the  whole  would  not  furnish  a  proper 
line  of  distinction,  still  less  would  the  conceal 
ment  of  a  part.  This  too  would  be  a  removal 
for  prevarication,  not  for  unauthorized  enter 
prise,  and  could  not  be  a  proper  ground  for  ex 
ercising  the  extraordinary  power  of  removal 
by  the  President. — To  GENERAL  DEARBORN,  v, 
60.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  38.  (W.,  March  1807.) 

562.  ARMY    OFFICERS,     Undesirable 
French. — I  would  not  advise  that  the  French 
gentlemen    should   come    here.      [Philadelphia.] 
We  have   so  many  of  that  country,   and  have 
been    so   much    imposed   on    that   the    Congress 
begins  to  be   sore  on   that  head.     *     *     *     If 
you  approve  of  the  Chevalier  de  St.  Aubin,  why 
not  appoint  him  yourselves,  as  your  troops  of 
horse  are  colonial,  not  continental  ?— To  JOHN 
PAGE.     FORD  ED.,  ii,  70.     (Pa.,  1776.) 

563.  ARNOLD    (Benedict),    Expedition 

to  Quebec. — The  march  of  Arnold  [to  Que 
bec]  is  equal  to  Xenophon's  retreat. — To  JOHN 
PAGE.  FORD  ED.,  i,  496.  (i775-) 

564. .     I   never   understood   that 

Arnold  formed  this  enterprise,  nor  do  I  believe 
he  did.  I  heard  and  saw  all  General  Wash 
ington's  letters  on  this  subject.  I  do  not  think 
he  mentioned  Arnold  as  author  of  the  proposi 
tion  ;  yet  he  was  always  just  in  ascribing  to 
every  officer  the  merit  of  his  own  works  ;  and 
he  was  disposed  particularly  in  favor  of 
Arnold.  This  officer  is  entitled  to  great  merit 
in  the  execution,  but  to  ascribe  to  him  that  of 
having  formed  the  enterprise,  is  probably  to 
ascribe  to  him  what  belongs  to  General  Wash- 


57 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Arnold  (Benedict) 
Artisans 


ington  or  some  other  person. — ANSWERS  TO 
M.  SOULES.  ix,  301.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  300.  (P., 
1786.) 

565. .     General  Arnold,    (a   fine 

sailor)  has  undertaken  to  command  our  fleet  on 
the  Lakes. — To  FRANCIS  EPPES.  FORD  ED.  ii, 
77.  (Pa.,  1776.) 

566.  ARNOLD   (Benedict),  RewarcJ  for 

capture  of. — It  is  above  all  things  desirable 
to  drag  Arnold  from  those  under  whose  wing 
he  is  now  sheltered.  On  his  march  to  and  from 
this  place  [Richmond],  I  am  certain  it  might 
have  been  done  with  facility  by  men  of  enter 
prise  and  firmness.  I  think  it  may  still  be 
done.  *  *  *  Having  peculiar  confidence  in 
the  men  from  the  western  side  of  the  moun 
tains,  I  meant,  as  soon  as  they  should  come 
down,  to  get  the  enterprise  proposed  to  a 
chosen  number  of  them  :  such  whose  courage 
and  whose  fidelity  would  be  above  all  doubt. 
Your  perfect  knowledge  of  those  men  person 
ally,  and  my  confidence  in  your  discretion,  in 
duce  me  to  ask  you  to  pick  from  among  them 
proper  characters,  in  such  number  as  you  think 
best,  to  reveal  to  them  our  desire,  and  engage 
them  to  undertake  to  seize  and  bring  off  this 
greatest  of  all  traitors.  Whether  this  may  be 
best  effected  by  their  going  in  (within  the  Brit 
ish  lines)  as  friends  and  awaiting  their  oppor 
tunity,  or  otherwise,  is  left  to  themselves.  The 
smaller  the  number  the  better,  so  that  they  be 
sufficient  to  manage  him.  Every  necessary  cau 
tion  must  be  used  on  their  part,  to  prevent  a 
discovery  of  their  design  by  the  enemy ;  as, 
should  they  be  taken,  the  laws  of  war  will  jus 
tify  against  them  the  most  rigorous  sentence. 
I  will  undertake,  if  they  are  successful  in  bring 
ing  him  off  alive,  that  they  shall  receive  five 
thousand  guineas  reward  among  them.  And  to 
men,  formed  for  such  an  enterprise,  it  must  be 
a  great  incitement  to  know  that  their  names  will 
be  recorded  with  glory  in  history,  with  those  of 

Van  Wart,  Paulding  and  Williams.*— To  . 

i,  289.     FORD  ED.,  ii,  441.     (R.,  1781.) 

567.  ARNOLD   (Benedict),   Treason  of. 
—The      parricide      Arnold. — To      GENERAL 
WASHINGTON,     i,  284.     FORD  ED.,  ii,  408.     (R., 
1781.) 

568.  ART,    Selecting    works    of.— With 
respect  to  the  figures,  I  could  only  find  three  of 
those  you  named,  matched  in  size.     Those  were 
Minerva,  Diana  and  Apollo.     I  was  obliged  to 
add  a  fourth,  unguided  by  your  choice.     They 
offered  me  a  fine  Venus  ;    but  I  thought  it  out 
of  taste  to  have  two  at  table  at  the  same  time. 
Paris  and  Helen  were  represented.     I  conceived 
it  would  be  cruel   to  remove  them   from  their 
peculiar  shrine.     When  they  shall  pass  the  At 
lantic,   it   will   be   to    sing   a   requiem   over   our 
freedom  and  happiness.     At  length  a  fine  Mars 
was  offered,  calm,  bold,  his  falchion  not  drawn 
but   ready   to   be   drawn.     This   will   do,   thinks 
I.   for  the  table   of  the   American   Minister   in 
London,  where  those  whom  it  may  concern  may 
look    and    learn    that    though    Wisdom    is    our 
guide,   and   the    Song   and   Chase   our   supreme 
delight,   yet  we  offer  adoration   to  that  tutelar 
God  also   who  rocked  the  cradle  of  our  birth, 
who  has  accepted  our  infant  offerings,  and  has 
shown    himself   the    patron    of    our    rights    and 
avenger  of  our  wrongs.     The  group  then  was 
closed  and  your  party  formed.     Envy  and  mal 
ice  will  never  be  quiet.     I  hear  it  already  whis- 

*  This  letter  is  without  an  address,  but,  it  is  thought 
was  written  to  General  George  Rogers  Clark  or  to 
General  Muhlenberg.  Jefferson  was  Governor  of 
Virginia.— EDITOR, 


pered  to  you  that  in  admitting  Minerva  to  your 
table,  I  have  departed  from  the  principle  which 
made  me  reject  Venus;  in  plain  English  that 
I  have  paid  a  just  respect  to  the  daughter  but 
failed  to  the  mother.  No,  Madam,  my  respect 
to  both  is  sincere.  Wisdom,  I  know,  is  social. 
She  seeks  her  fellows,  but  Beauty  is  jealous, 
and  illy  bears  the  presence  of  a  rival. — To  MRS. 
JOHN  ADAMS.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  99.  (P.,  1785.) 

569.  ARTISANS,  Americans  as.— While 
we  have  land  to  labor,  let  us  never  wish  to 
see  our  citizens  occupied  at  a  work-bench,  or 
twirling  a   distaff.    Carpenters,   masons,   and 
smiths,   are   wanting  in   husbandry ;   but   for 
the   general   operations    of   manufacture,    let 
our  workshops  remain  in  Europe. — NOTES  ON 
VIRGINIA,  viii,  405.   FORD  ED.,  iii,  269.    (1782.) 

570.  ARTISANS,    Condemnation  of.— I 

consider  the  class  of  artificers  as  the  panders  of 
vice,  and  the  instruments  by  which  the  liberties 
of  a  country  are  generally  overturned. — To 
JOHN  JAY.  i,  404.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  88.  (P., 
1785.) 

571.  ARTISANS,  Explanation  of  views 
on. — Mr.  Duane  informed  me  that  he  meant 
to  publish  a  new  edition  of  the  Notes  on  Vir 
ginia,  and  I  had  in  contemplation  some  particu 
lar  alterations  which  would  require  little  time  to 
make.     My  occupations  by  no  means  permit  me 
at  this  time  to  revise  the  text,  and  make  those 
changes  in  it  which  I  should  now  do.     I  should 
in   that   case   certainly   qualify   several    expres 
sions  *  *  *  which  have  been  construed  differ 
ently   from   what   they   were   intended.      I    had 
under  my  eye,  when  writing,  the  manufacturers 
of  the  great  cities  in  the  old  countries,  at  the 
time  present,  with  whom  the  want  of  food  and 
clothing  necessary  to  sustain  life,  has  begotten 
a  depravity  of  morals,  a  dependence  and  corrup 
tion,  which  render  them  an  undesirable  acces 
sion  to  a  country  whose  morals  are  sound.     My 
expressions   looked   forward  to   the   time   when 
our  great  cities  would  get  into  the  same  state. 
But  they  have  been  quoted  as  if  meant  for  the 
present  time  here.     As  yet  our  manufacturers 
are  as  much  at  their  ease,  as  independent  and 
moral  as  our  agricultural  inhabitants,  and  they 
will   continue   so   as   long   as  there   are   vacant 
lands  for  them  to  resort  to ;  because  whenever 
it  shall  be  attempted  by  the  other  classes  to  re 
duce  them  to  the  minimum  of  subsistence,  they 
will   quit   their   trades   and   go   to   laboring   the 
earth.    A  first  question  is,  whether  it  is  desirable 
for  us  to  receive  at  present  the  dissolute  and 
demoralized  handicraftsmen  of  the  old  cities  of 
Europe?     A  second  and  more  difficult  one  is, 
when  even  good  handicraftsmen  arrive  here,  is 
it  better  for  them  to  set  up  their  trade,  or  go  to 
the  culture  of  the  earth  ?     Whether  their  labor 
in  their  trade  is  worth  more  than  their  labor  on 
the  soil,   increased  by  the  creative  energies  of 
the  earth  ?     Had  I  time  to  revise  that  chapter, 
this    question    should    be    discussed,    and    other 
views  of  the  subject  taken,  which  are  presented 
by    the    wonderful    changes    which    have    taken 
place  here  since  1781,  when  the  Notes  on  Vir 
ginia  were  written. — To  MR.  LITHGOW.    iv,  563. 
FORD  ED.,  iii,  269.     (W.,  Jan.  1805.) 

572.  ARTISANS,  French  and  English. 
— The  English  mechanics  certainly  exceed  all 
others  in  some  lines.  But  be  just  to  your  own 
nation.  They  have  not  patience,  it  is  true,  to 
sit  rubbing  a  piece  of  steel  from  morning  to 
night,  as  a  lethargic  Englishman  will  do,  full 
charged  with  porter.  But  do  not  their  benev 
olence,  their  cheerfulness,  their  amiability, 


Artisans 
Assumption  of  State 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


when  compared  with  the  growling  temper  and 
manners  of  the  people  among  whom  you  are, 
compensate  their  want  of  patience? — To  MAD 
AME  DE  CARNY.  ii,  161.  (P.,  1787.) 

573.  ARTISANS,  Science  and.— The  me 
chanic  needs  ethics,  mathematics,  chemistry  and 
natural  philosophy.     To  them  the  languages  are 
but  ornament  and  comfort. — To  JOHN  BRAZIER. 
vii,  133-     (P-  F.,  1819.) 

574.  ARTISTS,  Member  of  Society  of. 
— I  am  very  justly  sensible  of  the  honor  the 
Society  of  Artists  of  the  United  States  has  done 
me  in  making  me  an  honorary  member  of  their 
Society.     *     *     *     I  fear  that  I  can  be  but  a 
very  useless  associate.     Time  which  withers  the 
fancy,    as    the    other    faculties    of    the    mind 
and  body  presses  on  me  with  a  heavy  hand,  and 
distance    intercepts    all    personal    intercourse. 
I    can    offer,    therefore,    but    my    zealous    good 
wishes   for  the  success   of  the  institution,   and 
that,  embellishing  with  taste  a  country  already 
overflowing  with  the  useful  productions,  it  may 
be  able  to  give  an  innocent  and  pleasing  direc 
tion  to  accumulations  of  wealth,  which  would 
otherwise  be  employed  in  the  nourishment  of 
coarse  and  vicious  habits. — To  THOMAS  SULLY. 
vi,  34-     (M.,  Jan.  1812.) 

575.  ARTS,  Enthusiasm  for  the. — I  am 
an  enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  the  arts.    But 
it    is    an    enthusiasm    of    which    I    am    not 
ashamed,  as  its  object  is  to  improve  the  taste 
of  my  countrymen,  to  increase  their  reputa 
tion,  to  reconcile  to  them  the  respect  of  the 
world,    and    procure    them    its    praise. — To 
JAMES  MADISON,    i,  433.    (P.,  1785-) 

576.  ARTS,     French    Excellence    in. — 
Were    I    to   proceed   to   tell   you   how   much   1 
enjoy  the  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  mu 
sic   [of  the  French],  I  should  want  words.     It 
is  in  these  arts  they  shine. — To  MR.  BELLINI. 
i,  445-      (P-,   1785.) 

577.  ARTS,    Mechanical.— The    mechan 
ical  arts  in  London  are  carried  to  a  wonderful 
perfection.     But  of  these  I  need  not  speak,  be 
cause   of   them   my   countrymen   have   unfortu 
nately*  too  many  samples  before  their  eyes. — 
To  JOHN  PAGE,     i,  550.     FORD  ED.,  iv,  214.  (P., 
1786.) 

578.  ASSASSINATION,        Government 
and. — Assassination,  poison,  perjury    *    ; 
were  legitimate  principles  [of  government]  in 
the  dark  ages  which  intervened  between  an 
cient  and  modern  civilization,  but  exploded 
and   held   in    just   horror    in    the   eighteenth 
century.— To  JAMES  MADISON,    iii,  99.    FORD 
ED.,  v,  in.    (P.,  1789.) 

—  ASSEMBLIES.— See  LEGISLATURES. 
_  ASSENISIPIA,  Proposed  State  of.— 
See  WESTERN  TERRITORY. 

579.  ASSIGNATS,     Payments     in.— I 
have  communicated    to  the    President  what 
passed  between  us    *    *    *    on  the  subject 
of    the    payments    made    to    France    by    the 
United  States  in  the  assignats  of  that  coun 
try,  since  they  have  lost  their  par  with  gold 
and  silver;  and  after  conferences,  by  his  in 
struction,   with  the   Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  I  am  authorized  to  assure  you,  that  the 

*  The  allusion  is  to  the  extravagance  of  the  period. 

—EDITOR. 


government  of  the  United  States  have  no  idea 
of  paying  their  debt  in  a  depreciated  me 
dium,  and  that  in  the  final  liquidation  of  the 
payments  *  *  :  due  regard  will  be  had 
to  an  equitable  allowance  for  the  circum 
stance  of  depreciation.* — To  JEAN  BAPTISTE 
TERNANT.  FORD  ED.,  v,  383.  (Pa.,  Nov. 
1791.) 

580.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,  Acrimony  over.— The  assumption 
of    State    debts    has    appeared    as    revolting    to 
several  States  as  their  non-assumption  to  others. 
It  is  proposed  to  strip  the  proposition  of  the  in 
justice  it  would  have  done  by  leaving  the  States 
who  have  redeemed  much  of  their  debts  on  no 
better   footing  than   those   who   have  redeemed 
none ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  recommended  to  as 
sume  a  fixed  sum,  allotting  a  portion  of  it  to 
every  State  in  proportion  to  its  census.     Con 
sequently,  every  State  will  receive  exactly  what 
they  will  have  to  pay,  or  they  will  be  exonerated 
so  far  by  the  General  Government's  taking  their 
creditors  off  their  hands.     There  will  be  no  in 
justice  then.     But  there  will  be  the  objection 
still,    that    Congress    must   then    lay    taxes    for 
those  debts  which  would  have  been  much  better 
laid   and   collected   by   the    State   governments. 
And  this  is  the  objection  on  which  the  accommo 
dation  now  hangs  with  the  non-assumptioners, 
many  of  whom  committed  themselves  in  their 
advocation   of   the   new   Constitution   by   argu 
ments  drawn  from  the  improbability  that  Con 
gress   would   ever   lay   taxes   where   the   States 
could  do  it  separately.  These  gentlemen  feel  the 
reproaches  which  will  be  levelled  at  them  per 
sonally.    I  have  been,  and  still  am  of  their  opin 
ion  that  Congress  should  always  prefer  letting 
the  States  raise  money  in  their  own  way,  where 
it  can  be  done.     But,  in  the  present  instance,  I 
see  the  necessity  of  yielding  for  this  time  to  the 
cries   of  the   creditors   in   certain   parts   of  the 
Union  ;  for  the  sake  of  Union,  and  to  save  us 
from  the  greatest  of  all  calamities,  the  total  ex 
tinction   of   our   credit   in    Europe. — To   JAMES 
MONROE,     iii,   153.     FORD  ED.,  v,   188.     (N.  Y., 
June  1790.) 

581.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,  Compromise  plans. — The  question 
for  assuming  the  State  debts  has  created  greater 
animosities  than  I  ever  yet  saw  take  place  on 
any  occasion.     There  are  three  ways  in  which 
it   may   yet   terminate,      i.  A   rejection   of   the 
measure,  which  will  prevent  their  funding  any 
part  of  the  public  debt,  and  will  be  something 
very  like  a  dissolution  of  the  government.     2. 
A  bargain  between  the  Eastern  members,  who 
have  had  it  so  much  at  heart,  and  the  middle 
members,  who  are  indifferent  about  it,  to  adopt 
those  debts  without  any  modification  on  condi 
tion    of    removing   the    seat   of   government   to 
Philadelphia  or  Baltimore.     3.  An  adoption  of 
them    with    this    modification.,    that    the    whole 
sum  to  be  assumed  shall  be  divided  among  the 
States   in   proportion   to   their   census ;    so   that 
each  shall  receive  as  much  as  they  are  to  pay  ; 
and   perhaps   this   might  bring   about   so   much 
good  humor  as  to  induce  them  to  give  the  tem 
porary  seat  of  government  to  Philadelphia,  and 
then  to  Georgetown  permanently.     It  is  evident 
that  this  last  is  the  least  bad  of  all  the  turns  the 
thing  can  take.     The  only  objection  to  it  will  be 

*  Jefferson's  first  draft  of  this  letter  ended  as  fol 
lows  :  "  And  that  they  will  take  measures  for  making 
these  payments  in  their  just  value,  avoiding  all  bene 
fit  from  depreciation,  and  desiring  on  their  part  to 
be  guarded  against  any  unjust  loss  from  the  circum 
stances  of  mere  exchange."  It  was  changed  to  meet 
Hamilton's  views.— EDITOR. 


i 


59 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA          Assumption  of  state 


that  Congress  will  then  have  to  lay  and  collect 
taxes  to  pay  these  debts,  which  could  much  bet 
ter  have  been  laid  and  collected  by  the  State 
governments.  This,  though  an  evil,  is  a  less  one 
than  any  of  the  others  in  which  it  may  issue, 
and  will  probably  give  us  the  seat  of  government 
at  a  day  not  very  distant,  which  will  vivify  our 
agriculture  and  commerce  by  circulating  through 
our  State  an  additional  sum  every  year  of  half  a 
million  of  dollars. — To  DR.  GEORGE  GILMER.  iii, 
150.  FORD  ED.,  v,  192.  (N.  Y.,  June  1790.) 

582.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,  Credit,  Union  and. — Congress  has 
been  long  embarrassed  by  two  of  the  most  ir 
ritating  questions  that  can  ever  be  raised  among 
them:      i.  The  funding  of  the  public  debt;    and 
2,  the  fixing  on  a  more  central  residence.    After 
exhausting    their    arguments    and    patience    on 
these   subjects,   they  have   for  some  time  been 
resting  on  their  oars,  unable  to  get  along  as  to 
these   businesses,   and   indisposed   to   attend   to 
anything  else  till  they  are  settled.    And,  in  fine, 
it  has  become  probable  that  unless  they  can  be 
reconciled  by  some  plan  of  compromise,  there 
will  be  no   funding  bill  agreed  to  ;    our  credit 
(raised  by  late  prospects  to  be  the  first  on  the 
exchange   at  Amsterdam,   where  our  money   is 
above  par),  will  burst  and  vanish, and  the  States 
separate,  to  take  care  every  one  of  itself.     This 
prospect  appears  probable  to  some  well-informed 
and  well-disposed  minds.     Endeavors  are,  there 
fore,  using  to  bring  about  a  disposition  to  some 
mutual  sacrifices. — To  JAMES  MONROE,     iii,  153. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  187.     (N.  Y.,  June  1790.) 

583.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,  Federal  capital  and. — It  is  proposed 
to  pass  an  act  fixing  the  temporary  residence  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  years  at  Philadelphia,  and  that 
at  the  end  of  that  time,  it  shall  stand  ipso  facto, 
and  without  further  declaration  transferred  to 
Georgetown.     In  this  way,  there  will  be  some 
thing    to    displease    and    something    to    soothe 
every  part  of  the  Union  but  New  York,  which 
must  be  contented  with  what  she  has  had.     If 
this  plan  of  compromise  does  not  take  place,  I 
fear    one    infinitely    worse,    an    unqualified    as 
sumption,   and   the  perpetual   residence   on   the 
Delaware.     The  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  dele 
gates  have  conducted  themselves  honorably  and 
unexceptionably   on  the  question   of  residence. 
Without  descending  to  talk  about  bargains,  they 
have  seen  that  their  true  interests  lay  in  not 
listening  to  insidious  propositions,  made  to  di 
vide  and  defect  them,  and  we  have  seen  them  at 
times    voting    against    their    respective    wishes 
rather  than  separate. — To  JAMES  MONROE,     iii, 
153-     FORD  ED.,  v,  189.     (N.  Y.,  June  1790.) 

584.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,     Justice     and. — The     assumption 
must  be  admitted,  but  in  so  qualified  a  form  as 
to  divest  it  of  its  injustice.     This  may  be  done 
by  assuring  to  the  creditors  of  every   State,   a 
sum  exactly  proportioned  to  the  contribution  of 
the  State;    so  that  the  State  will  on  the  whole 
neither  gain  nor  lose.  There  will  remain  against 
the  measure  only  the  objection  that   Congress 
must  lay  taxes  for  these  debts  which  might  be 
better    laid    and    collected    by    the    States. — To 
T.   M.  RANDOLPH.     FORD  ED.,  v,    185.     (N.  Y. 
1790.) 

585.  -  — .     I    am    in    hopes    the    as- 
•    sumption  will  be  put  into  a  jxist  form,  by  assum 
ing  to  the  creditors  of  each  State  in  proportion 
to  the  census  of  each   State,  so  that  the  State 
will  be  exonerated  towards  its  creditors  just  as 
much  as  it  will  have  to  contribute  to  the  as 


sumption,  and  consequently  no  injustice  done. 
— To  FRANCIS  EPPES.  FORD  ED.,  v,  194.  (N.  Y., 
July  1790.) 

586.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,   Mutual  sacrifices.— The  impossi- 
Dility   that   certain    States   could   ever   pay   the 
debts  they  had  contracted,  the  acknowledgment 
:hat  nine-tenths  of  these  debts  were  contracted 
tor  the  general  defence  as  much  as  those  con 
tracted  by  Congress  directly,  the  clamors  of  the 
creditors    within    those    States,    and   the    possi 
bility  that  they  might  defeat  the  funding  of  any 
part  of  the  public  debt,  if  theirs  also  were  not 
assumed,  were  motives  not  to  be  neglected.     I 
saw  the  first  proposition   for  their  assumption 
with  as  much  aversion  as  any  man,  but  the  de 
velopment  of  circumstances  have  convinced  me 
that    if    it    is    obdurately    rejected,    something 
much  worse  will  happen.     Considering  it,  there 
fore,  as  one  of  the  cases  in  which  mutual  sacri 
fice  and  accommodation  are  necessary,   I   shall 
see  it  pass  with  acquiescence. — To  JOHN  HAR- 
VIE.     FORD  ED.,  v,  214.      (N.  Y.,  July   1790.) 

587.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,  Opposition  engendered. — It  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  our  system  of  finance  has 
met  your  approbation  in  all   its  parts.     It  has 
excited  even  here  great  opposition  ;    and  more 
especially  that  part  of  it  which  transferred  the 
State  debts  to  the   General   Government.     The 
States  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  are  pecu 
liarly  dissatisfied  with  this  measure.     I  believe, 
however,  that  it  is  harped  on  by  many  to  mask 
their  disaffection   to   the  government  on   other 
grounds. — To    GOUVERNEUR    MORRIS,     iii,     198. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  250.     (Pa.,  Nov.  1790.) 

588.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,  Payment  by  States. — With  respect 
to  the  increase  of  the  debt  by  the  Assumption,  I 
observed  to  him    [Washington]    that  what  was 
meant  and  objected  to  was,  that  it  increased  the 
debt  of  the  General  Government,  and  carried  it 
beyond  the  possibility  of  payment ;    that  if  the 
balances  had  been  settled,  and  the  debtor  States 
directed  to  pay  their  deficiencies  to  the  creditor 
States,  they  would  have  done  it  easily,  and  by 
resources  of  taxation  in  their  power,   and   ac 
ceptable  to  the  people ;    by  a  direct  tax  in  the 
South,  and  an  excise  in  the  North. — THE  ANAS. 
ix,  118.     FORD  ED.,  i,  200.     (July  1792.) 

589.  ASSUMPTION      OF      STATE 
DEBTS,   Review  of.— The  game    [Funding 
the  debt]  was  over,  and  another  was  on  the  car 
pet   at   the    moment    of   my    arrival  *    [in    New 
York   in    1790],   and   to   this   I   was   most   igno- 
rantly  and  innocently  made  to  hold  the  candle. 
This  fiscal  maneuvre  is  well  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Assumption.     Independently  of  the  debts 
of  Congress,   the   States   had,   during   the   war, 
contracted  separate  and  heavy  debts ;  and  Mas 
sachusetts    particularly    in    an    absurd    attempt, 
absurdly    conducted,    on    the    British    post    of 
Penobscott ;    and  the  more  debt  Hamilton  could 
rake  up  the  more  plunder  for  his  mercenaries. 
This  money,  whether  wisely  or  foolishly  spent, 
was  pretended  to  have  been  spent  for  general 
purposes,  and  ought,  therefore,  to  be  paid  from 

*  Jefferson  has  here  made  the  curious  errors  of 
separating  the  funding  and  assumption  act,  and  of 
supposing  the  latter  "  was  over  "  before  he  reached 
New  York.  Hamilton's  report  was  debated  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  February  to  April, 
and  it  was  not  till  May  6th  that  the  funding  bill  was 
presented,  the  section  relating  to  assumption  having 
been  negatived  in  committee.  This  bill  passed  the 
House  on  June  zd,  and  in  the  Senate  had  the  assump 
tion  section  restored.  Not  till  August  4th  did  the 
bill  so  altered  become  a  law.— NOTE  IN  FORD'S  ED. 


Assumption  of  State 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


60 


the  general  purse.  But  it  was  objected  that  no 
body  knew  what  these  debts  were,  what  their 
amount,  or  what  their  proofs.  No  matter ;  we 
will  guess  them  to  be  twenty  millions.  But  of 
these  twenty  millions,  we  do  not  know  how 
much  should  be  reimbursed  to  one  State,  nor 
how  much  to  another.  No  matter ;  we  will 
guess.  And  so  another  scramble  was  set  on 
foot  among  the  several  States,  and  some  got 
much,  some  little,  some  nothing.  But  the  main 
object  was  attained,  the  phalanx  of  the  treasury 
was  reinforced  by  additional  recruits.  This 
measure  produced  the  most  bitter  and  angry 
contests  ever  known  in  Congress,  before  or 
since  the  Union  of  the  States.  I  arrived  in  the 
midst  of  it.  But  a  stranger  to  the  ground,  a 
stranger  to  the  actors  on  it,  so  long  absent  [in 
France]  as  to  have  lost  all  familiarity  with  the 
subject,  and  as  yet  unaware  of  its  object,  I 
took  no  concern  in  it.  The  great  and  trying 
question,  however,  was  lost  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  So  high  were  the  feuds  ex 
cited  by  this  subject,  that  on  its  rejection  busi 
ness  was  suspended.  Congress  met  and  ad 
journed  from  day  to  day  without  doing  any. 
thing,  the  parties  being  too  much  out  of  temper 
to  dp  business  together.  The  Eastern  members 
particularly,  who,  with  Smith  from  South  Caro 
lina,  were  the  principal  gamblers  in  these 
scenes,  threatened  a  secession  and  dissolution. 
Hamilton  was  in  despair.  As  I  was  going  to 
the  President's  one  day,  I  met  him  in  the 
street.  He  walked  me  backwards  and  forwards 
before  the  President's  door  for  half  an  hour. 
He  painted  pathetically  the  temper  into  which 
the  Legislature  had  been  wrought ;  the  disgust 
of  those  who  were  called  the  creditor  States; 
the  danger  of  the  secession  of  their  members, 
and  the  separation  of  the  States.  He  observed 
that  the  members  of  the  administration  ought 
to  act  in  concert ;  that  though  this  question 
was  not  one  of  my  department,  yet  a  common 
duty  should  make  it  a  common  concern  ;  that 
the  President  was  the  centre  on  which  all  ad 
ministrative  questions  ultimately  rested,  and 
that  all  of  us  should  rally  around  him,  and  sup 
port,  with  joint  efforts,  measures  approved  by 
him  ;  and  that  the  question  having  been  lost  by 
a  small  majority  only,  it  was  probable  that  an 
appeal  from  me  to  the  judgment  and  discretion 
of  some  of  my  friends  might  effect  a  change  in 
the  vote,  and  the  machine  of  government,  now 
suspended,  might  be  again"  set  into  motion.  I 
told  him  that  I  was  really  a  stranger  to  the 
whole  subject ;  that  not  having  yet  informed 
myself  of  the  system  of  finance  adopted,  I  knew 
not  how  far  this  was  a  necessary  sequence ;  that 
undoubtedly,  if  its  rejection  endangered  a  dis 
solution  of  our  Union  at  this  incipient  stage,  I 
should  deem  that  the  most  unfortunate  of  all 
consequences,  to  avert  which  all  partial  and 
temporary  evils  should  be  yielded.  I  proposed 
to  him,  however,  to  dine  with  me  the  next  day, 
and  I  would  invite  another  friend  or  two,  to 
bring  them  into  conference  together,  and  I 
thought  it  impossible  that  reasonable  men,  con 
sulting  together  coolly,  could  fail,  by  some  mu 
tual  sacrifices  of  opinion,  to  form  a  compromise 
which  was  to  save  the  Union.  The  discussion 
took  place.  I  could  take  no  part  in  it,  but  an 
exhortatory  one,  because  I  was  a  stranger  to  the 
circumstances  which  should  govern  it.  But  it 
was  finally  agreed  that,  whatever  importance 
had  been  attached  to  the  rejection  of  this  prop 
osition,  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  of 
,oncord  among  the  States  was  more  important, 
and  that  therefore,  it  would  be  better  that  the 
vote  of  rejection  should  be  rescinded,  to  effect 
which  some  members  should  change  their  votes. 
But  it  was  observed  that  this  bill  would  be 


peculiarly  bitter  to  the  Southern  States,  and 
that  some  concomitant  measure  should  be 
adopted,  to  sweeten  it  a  little  to  them.  There 
had  before  been  proposals  to  fix  the  seat  of 
government  either  at  Philadelphia,  or  at  George 
town  on  the  Potomac  ;  and  it  was  thought  that 
by  giving  it  to  Philadelphia  for  ten  years,  and 
to  Georgetown  permanently  afterwards,  this 
might,  as  an  anodyne,  calm  in  some  degree  the 
ferment  which  might  be  excited  by  the  other 
measure  alone.  So  two  of  the  Potomac  mem 
bers  ([Alexander]  White  and  [Richard  Bland] 
Lee  but  White  with  a  revulsion  of  stomach 
almost  convulsive),  agreed  to  change  their 
votes,  and  Hamilton  undertook  to  carry  the 
other  point.  In  doing  this  the  influence  he 
had  established  over  the  Eastern  members, 
with  the  agency  of  Robert  Morris  with  those 
of  the  middle  States  effected  his  side  of  the 
engagement,  and  so  the  Assumption  was 
passed,  and  twenty  millions  of  stock  divided 
among  the  favored  States,  and  thrown  in  as 
pabulum  to  the  stock-jobbing  herd.  This  ad 
ded  to  the  number  of  votaries  to  the  Treasury, 
and  made  its  Chief  the  master  of  every  vote  in 
the  Legislature  which  might  give  to  the  govern 
ment  the  directions  suited  to  his  political 
views. — THE  ANAS,  ix,  92.  FORD  ED.,  i,  161. 
(1818.) 

590.  ASSUMPTION  OF  STATE 
DEBTS,  Jefferson's  agency  in.— The  As 
sumption  of  the  State  debts  in  1790,  was  a 
supplementary  measure  in  Hamilton's  fiscal  sys 
tem.  When  attempted  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  it  failed.  This  threw  Hamilton  him 
self,  and  a  number  of  members  into  deep 
dismay.  Going  to  the  President's  one  day  I 
met  Hamilton,  as  I  approached  the  door.  His 
look  was  sombre,  haggard,  and  dejected  beyond 
description ;  even  his  dress  uncouth  and  neg 
lected.  He  asked  to  speak  with  me.  He  stood 
in  the  street  near  the  door ;  he  opened  the 
subject  of  the  Assumption  of  the  State  debts, 
the  necessity  of  it  in  the  general  fiscal  arrange 
ment,  and  its  indispensable  necessity  towards 
a  preservation  of  the  Union ;  and  particularly 
of  the  New  England  States,  who  had  made 
great  expenditures  during  the  war  on  expedi 
tions  which,  though  of  their  own  undertaking, 
were  for  the  common  cause :  that  they  consid 
ered  the  Assumption  of  these  by  the  Union  so 
just,  and  its  denial  so  probably  injurious  that 
they  would  make  it  a  sine  qua  non  of  a  continu 
ance  of  the  Union.  That  as  to  his  own  part, 
if  he  had  not  credit  enough  to  carry  such  a 
measure  as  that,  he  could  be  of  no  use  and  was 
determined  to  resign.  He  observed  at  the  same 
time,  that  though  our  particular  business  lay 
in  separate  departments,  yet  the  administration 
and  its  success  was  a  common  concern,  and  that 
we  should  make  common  cause  in  supporting 
one  another.  He  added  his  wish  that  I  would 
interest  my  friends  from  the  South,  who  were 
those  most  opposed  to  it.  I  answered  that  I 
had  been  so  long  absent  from  my  country  [in 
France]  that  I  had  lost  a  familiarity  with  its 
affairs,  and  being  but  lately  returned  had  not 
yet  got  into  the  train  of  them  ;  that  the  fiscal 
system  being  out  of  my  department  I  had  not 
yet  undertaken  to  consider  and  understand  it ; 
that  the  Assumption  had  struck  me  in  an  un 
favorable  light,  but  still,  not  having  considered 
it  sufficiently,  I  had  not  concerned  [myself]  in 
it,  but  that  I  would  revolve  what  he  had  urged 
in  my  mind.  It  was  a  real  fact  that  the  Eastern  ^ 
and  Southern  members  (South  Carolina  how 
ever  was  with  the  former)  had  got  into  the  most 
extreme  ill  humor  with  one  another.  This 
broke  out  on  every  question  with  the  most 


61 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Assumption  of  State 
Astronomy 


alarming  heat ;  the  bitterest  animosity  seemed 
to  be  engendered,  and  though  they  met  every 
day,  little  or  nothing  could  be  done  from  mutual 
distrust  and  antipathy.  On  considering  the 
situation  of  things,  I  thought  the  first  step  to 
wards  some  conciliation  of  views  would  be  to 
bring  Mr.  Madison  and  Colonel  Hamilton  to 
a  friendly  discussion  of  the  subject.  I  imme 
diately  wrote  to  each  to  come  and  dine  with 
me  the  next  day,  mentioning  that  we  should 
be  alone,  that  the  object  was  to  find  some 
temperament  for  the  present  fever,  and  that 
I  was  persuaded  that  men  of  sound  heads  and 
honest  views  needed  nothing  more  than  ex 
planation  and  mutual  understanding  to  enable 
them  to  unite  in  some  measures  which  might 
enable  us  to  get  along.  They  came  ;  I  opened 
the  subject  to  them,  acknowledged  that  my 
situation  had  not  permitted  me  to  understand  it 
sufficiently  but  encouraged  them  to  consider 
the  thing  together.  They  did  so.  It  ended  in 
Mr.  Madison's  acquiescence  in  a  proposition 
that  the  question  should  be  again  brought  be 
fore  the  House  by  way  of  amendment  from  the 
Senate :  that  though  he  would  not  vote  for  it, 
nor  entirely  withdraw  his  opposition,  yet  he 
should  not  be  strenuous  but  leave  it  to  its  fate. 
It  was  observed,  I  forget  by  which  of  them, 
that  as  the  pill  would  be  a  bitter  one  to  the 
Southern  States,  something  should  be  done  to 
soothe  them ;  that  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
government  to  the  Potomac  was  a  just  measure, 
and  would  probably  be  a  popular  one  with 
them,  and  would  be  a  proper  one  to  follow 
the  Assumption.  It  was  agreed  to  speak  to 
Mr.  [Hugh]  White  and  Mr.  [Richard  Bland] 
Lee  whose  districts  lay  on  the  Potomac,  and  to 
refer  to  them  to  consider  how  far  the  interests 
of  their  particular  districts  might  be  a  sufficient 
inducement  in  them  to  yield  to  the  Assump 
tion.  This  was  done.  Lee  came  into  it  without 
hesitation :  Mr.  White  had  some  qualms  but 
finally  agreed.  The  measure  came  down  by 
way  of  amendment  from  the  Senate  and  was 
finally  carried  by  the  change  of  White  and 
Lee's  votes.  But  the  removal  to  the  Potomac 
could  not  be  carried  unless  Pennsylvania  could 
be  engaged  in  it.  This  Hamilton  took  on  him 
self,  and  chiefly,  as  I  understood,  through  the 
agency  of  Robert  Morris,  obtained  a  vote  of 
that  State,  on  agreeing  to  an  intermediate  resi 
dence  at  Philadelphia.  This  is  the  real  history 
of  the  Assumption,  about  which  many  erro 
neous  conjectures  have  been  published.  It  was 
unjust  in  itself,  oppressive  to  the  States,  and 
was  acquiesced  in  merely  from  a  fear  of  discus 
sion.  While  our  government  was  still  in  its 
most  infant  state,  it  enabled  Hamilton  so  to 
strengthen  himself  by  corrupt  services  to  many 
that  he  could  afterwards  carry  his  bank  scheme, 
and  every  measure  he  proposed  in  defiance  of 
all  opposition.  In  fact,  it  was  a  principal 
ground  whereon  was  reared  up  that  speculating 
phalanx,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  which  has 
since  been  able  to  give  laws  to  change  the  polit 
ical  complexion  of  the  government  of  the  United 

States. — To  .      FORD     ED.,     vi,      172. 

(i793.) 

591.  ASTOB'S  SETTLEMENT,  Protec 
tion  of. — I  learn  with  great  pleasure  the 
progress  you  have  made  towards  an  establish 
ment  on  Columbia  river.  I  view  it  as  the  germ 
of  a  great,  free,  and  independent  empire  on  that 
side  of  our  continent,  and  that  liberty  and  self- 
government  spreading  from  that  as  well  as  from 
this  side,  will  insure  their  complete  establish 
ment  over  the  whole.  It  must  be  still  more 
gratifying  to  yourself  to  foresee  that  your  name 
will  be  handed  down  with  that  of  Columbus  and 
Raleigh,  as  the  father  of  the  establishment  and 


founder  of  such  an  empire.  It  would  be  an 
afflicting  thing,  indeed,  should  the  English  be 
able  to  break  up  the  settlement.  Their  bigotry 
to  the  bastard  liberty  of  their  own  country,  and 
habitual  hostility  to  every  degree  of  freedom 
in  any  other,  will  induce  the  attempt ;  they 
would  not  lose  the  sale  of  a  bale  of  furs  for  the 
empire  of  the  whole  world.  But  I  hope  your 
party  wilt  be  able  to  maintain  themselves  *  *  * 
and  have  no  doubt  our  government  will  do  for 
its  success  whatever  they  have  power  to  do 
and  especially  that  at  the  negotiations  for 
peace,  they  will  provide,  by  convention  with 
the  English,  for  the  safety  and  independence 
of  that  country,  and  an  acknowledgment  of 
our  right  of  patronizing  the  Indians  in  all 
cases  of  injury  from  foreign  nations. — To 
JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR.  vi,  247.  (M.,  1813.)  See 
FUR  TRADE. 

592.  ASTOB'S    SETTLEMENT,    Terri 
tory  and. — On  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  we 
can  found  no  claim  in  right  of  Louisiana.     If 
we   claim   that   country    at   all,    it   must   be   on 
Astor's   settlement   near  the  mouth   of  the   Co 
lumbia,  and  the  principle  of  the  jus  gentium  of 
America,    that    when    a    civilized    nation    takes 
possession   of  the  mouth   of  a  river  in   a  new 
country,    that   possession    is    considered    as    in 
cluding  all  its  waters. — To  JOHN    MELISH.     vii, 
51.     (M.,  1816.) 

593.  ASTRONOMY,    Apparatus    for.— 

This  letter  [is]  to  remind  you  of  your  kind 
promise  of  making  me  an  accurate  clock ; 
which,  being  intended  for  astronomical  pur 
poses  only,  I  would  have  divested  of  all  appara 
tus  for  striking,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  which, 
by  increasing  its  complication,  might  disturb 
its  accuracy.  A  companion  to  it,  for  keeping 
seconds,  and  which  might  be  moved  easily, 
would  greatly  add  to  its  value. — To  DAVID  RIT- 

TENHOUSE.       i,      210.       FORD      ED.,      ii,       162.        (M., 

1778.) 

594.  ASTRONOMY,  Bowditch's  papers. 
— I  am  indebted  to  you  for  Mr.   Bowditch's 
very  learned  mathematical  papers,  the  calcula 
tions    of   which    are    not    for    every    reader,    al 
though  their  results  are  readily  enough  under 
stood.     One  of  these  impairs  the  confidence   I 
had    reposed    in    Laplace's    demonstration,    that 
the  eccentricities  of  the  planets  of  our  system 
could  oscillate  only  within  narrow  limits,   and 
therefore  could  authorize  no  inference  that  the 
system  must,  by  its  own  laws,  come  one  day  to 
an  end.     This  would  have  left  the  question  one 
of  infinitude,  at  both  ends  of  the  line  of  time, 
clear  of  physical  authority. — To  JOHN   ADAMS. 
vii,   112.      (M.,    1819.) 

595.  ASTRONOMY,     Discoveries   in.— 

Herschel  has  pushed  his  discoveries  of  double 
stars,  now,  to  upwards  of  nine  hundred,  being 
twice  the  nvimber  of  those  communicated  in  the 
Philosophical  Transactions.  You  have  prob 
ably  seen,  that  a  Mr.  Pigott  had  discovered 
periodical  variations  of  light  in  the  star  Algol. 
He  has  observed  the  same  in  the  ??  of  Antinous, 
and  makes  the  period  of  variation  seven  days, 
four  hours,  and  thirty  minutes,  the  duration  of 
the  increase  sixty-three  hours,  and  of  the  de 
crease  thirty-six  hours.  What  are  we  to  con 
clude  from  this?  That  there  are  suns  which 
have  their  orbits  of  revolution  too?  But  this 
would  suppose  a  wonderful  harmony  in  their 
planets,  and  present  a  new  scene,  where  the 
attracting  powers  should  be  without,  and  not 
within  the  orbit.  The  motion  of  our  sun  would 
be  a  miniature  of  this.  But  this  must  be  left 
to  you  astronomers. — To  PROFESSOR  JAMES 
MADISON,  i,  447.  (P.,  1785.) 


Astronomy 
Athens 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


62 


596.  ASTRONOMY,  Planet  Herschel.— I 

shall  send  you  *  *  *  the  "  Connoissance 
de  Terns"  for  the  years  1786  and  1787,  being 
all  as  yet  published.  You  will  find  in  these  the 
tables  for  the  planet  Herschel,  as  far  as  the 
observations  hitherto  made,  admit  them  to  be 
calculated.  You  will  see,  also,  that  Herschel 
was  only  the  first  astronomer  who  discovered  it 
to  be  a  planet,  and  not  the  first  who  saw  it. 
Meyer  saw  it  in  the  year  1756,  and  placed  it  in 
the  catalogue  of  his  zodiacal  stars,  supposing  it 
to  be  such.  A  Prussian  astronomer,  in  the 
year  1781,  observed  that  the  964th  star  of 
Meyer's  catalogue  was  missing ;  and  the  cal 
culations  now  prove  that  at  the  time  Meyer 
saw  his  964th  star,  the  planet  Herschel  should 
have  been  precisely  in  the  place  where  he  noted 
that  star. — To  JOHN  PAGE,  i,  402.  (P.,  1785.) 

597. .     It    is    fixed    on    grounds 

which  scarcely  admit  a  doubt  that  the  planet 
Herschel  was  seen  by  Meyer  in  the  year  1756, 
and  was  considered  by  him  as  one  of  the  zodi 
acal  stars,  and,  as  such,  arranged  in  his  cat 
alogue,  being  the  964th  which  he  describes. 
This  964th  of  Meyer  has  been  since  missing, 
and  the  calculations  for  the  planet  Herschel 
show  that  it  should  have  been,  at  the  time  of 
Meyer's  observation,  where  he  places  his  964th 
star.— To  DR.  STILES,  i,  363.  (P.,  1785.) 

598.  ASTRONOMY,   Solar  eclipse.— We 
•were  much   disappointed  in   Virginia  generally 
on  the  day  of  the  great  eclipse,  which  proved  to 
be  cloudy.     In  Williamsburg,  where  it  was  total, 
I  understand  only  the  beginning  was  seen.     At 
this  place,    (Montjcello,)    which  is  latitude   38° 
8'  and  longitude  west  from  Williamsburg,  about 
i°   45',  as  is  conjectured,    n   digits  only  were 
supposed  to  be  covered.     It  was  not  seen  at  all 
until  the  moon  had  advanced  nearly  one-third 
over  the  sun's  disc.     Afterwards  it  was  seen  at 
intervals  through  the  whole.     The   egress  par 
ticularly   was   visible.     It   proved,    however,    of 
little  use  to  me,  for  want  of  a  time  piece  that 
could    be    depended    on. — To    DAVID    RITTEN- 
HOUSE.     i,  210.     FORD  ED.,  ii,    162.     (M.,  July, 
1778.) 

599.  ASTRONOMY,      Variations     of 
light. — I  think   your   conjecture  that  the  peri 
odical  variation  of  light  in  certain  fixed  stars  pro 
ceeds  from  maculae,  is  more  probable  than  that 
of  Maupertius,  who  supposes  those  bodies  may 
be  flat,  and  more  probable  also  than  that  which 
supposes  the  star  to  have  an  orbit  of  revolution 
so  large  as  to  vary  sensibly  its  degree  of  light. 
The  latter  is  rendered  more  difficult  of  belief 
from  the  shortness  of  the  period  of  variation. — 
To  PROFESSOR  J.  MADISON,    ii,  247.     (P.,  1787.) 

600.  ASYLUM,  America  as  an.— Amer 
ica  is  now,  I  think,  the  only  country  of  tran 
quillity,  and  should  be  the  asylum  of  all  those 
who   wish   to   avoid   the   scenes    which   have 
crushed     our    friends     in     Paris. — To     MRS. 
CHURCH.     FORD  ED.,  vi,  289.     (Pa.,  1793.) 

601.  -  — .     I   think   it   fortunate    for 
the  United  States  to  have  become  the  asylum 
for  so  many  virtuous  patriots  of  different  de 
nominations;   but  their  circumstances,    with 
which  you  were  so  well  acquainted  before,  en 
abled  them  to  be  but  a  bare  asylum,  and  to 
offer  nothing  for  them  but  an  entire  freedom 
to  use  their  own  means  and  faculties  as  they 
please. — To  M.  DE  MEUNIER.    FORD  ED.,  vii,  13, 
(M.,  1795.) 

602.   .     Small     means    of    being 

useful  to  you  are  left  to  me,  but  they  shall  be 


freely  exercised  for  your  advantage,  and  that, 
not  on  the  selfish  principle  of  increasing  our 
own  population  at  the  expense  of  other  na 
tions,  *  *  *  but  to  consecrate  a  sanctuary  for 
those  whom  the  misrule  of  Europe  may  com 
pel  to  seek  happiness  in  other  climes.  This 
refuge,  once  known,  will  produce  reaction  on 
the  happiness  even  of  those  who  remain  there, 
by  warning  their  task-masters  that  when  the 
evils  of  Egyptian  oppression  become  heavier 
than  those  of  the  abandonment  of  country, 
another  Canaan  is  open  where  their  subjects 
will  be  received  as  brothers,  and  secured 
against  like  oppressions  by  a  participation  in 
the  right  of  self  government. — To  GEORGE 
FLOWER,  vii,  84.  (P.F.,  1817.) 

603.  ASYLUM,      Consuls      and.— The 
clause     in     the     Consular     convention     with 
France  of  1784  giving  the  right  of  sanctuary 
to  consuls'  houses,  was  reduced  to  a  protection 
of  their    chancery    room    and    its    papers. — 
NOTES  ON  CONSULAR  CONVENTION,     ix,  46^. 
(1803.) 

604.  ASYLUM,    Public    vessels    and.— 
Article    12    [of    the    French    treaty],    giving 
asylum  in  the  ports  of  either  to  the  armed 
vessels  of  the  other,   with  the  prizes  taken 
from    the    enemies    of   that   other,    must   be 
qualified  as  it  is   in  the   I9th  article  of  the 
Prussian    treaty;    as    the    stipulation    in    the 
latter  part  of  the  article,  "  that  no  shelter  or 
refuge  shall  be  given  in  the  ports  of  the  one, 
to  such  as  shall  have  made  prize  on  the  sub 
jects  of  the  other  of  the  parties,"  would  forbid 
us   in   case   of   a  war  between    France    and 
Spain,  to  give  shelter  in  our  ports  to  prizes 
made  by  the  latter  on  the  former,  while  the 
first  part  of  the  article  would  oblige  us  to 
shelter  those  made  by  the  former  on  the  lat 
ter — a  very  dangerous   covenant,    and   which 
ought  never  to  be  repeated  in  any  other  in 
stance. — MISSISSIPPI      RIVER      INSTRUCTIONS. 
vii,  588.    FORD  ED.,  v,  478.     (March  1792.) 

605.  -  — .     The  Executive  has  never 
denied  the  right  of  asylum  in  our  ports  to 
the  public  armed  vessels  of  [the  British]  na 
tion.     They,  as  well  as  the  French,  are  free 
to  come  to  them,  in  all  cases  of  weather,  pira 
cies,  enemies,  or  other  urgent  necessity,  and 
to  refresh,  victual  and  repair,  &c. — To  GEORGE 
HAMMOND,     iv,  65.     FORD  ED.,  vi,  423.     (Pa., 
1793- )      See    EXPATRIATION,    FUGITIVES,    IM 
PRESSMENT. 

606.  ATHEISM,     Calumnious     charges 
of. — As  to  the  calumny  of  Atheism,  I  am  so 
broken    to    calumnies    of    every    kind,    from 
every  department  of  government,  Executive, 
Legislative,    and   Judiciary,    and    from   every 
minion  of  theirs  holding  office  or  seeking  it, 
that  I  entirely  disregard  it,  and  from  Chace  it 
will  have  less  effect  than  from  any  other  man 
in   the   United    States. — To  JAMES    MONROE. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  447.   (Ep.,  May  1800.) 

607.  ATHEIST,     Not     an.— An     atheist 
*  *  *  I     can     never   be. — To   JOHN    ADAMS. 
vii,  281.     (M.,   1823.) 

608.  ATHENS,     Government     of. — The 
government  of  Athens  was  that  of  the  people 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Atmosphere 
Authority 


of  one  city  making  laws  for  the  whole  country 
subjected  to  them.  That  of  Lacedaemon  was 
the  rule  of  military  monks  over  the  laboring 
class  of  the  people,  reduced  to  abject  slavery. 
These  are  not  the  doctrines  of  the  present  age. 
The  equal  rights  of  man,  and  the  happiness  of 
every  individual,  are  now  acknowledged  to  be 
the  only  legitimate  objects  of  government. — To 
M.  CORAY.  vii,  319.  (M.,  1823.) 

_  ATMOSPHERE.— See  209. 

_  ATTACHMENTS,  Foreign.— See  FOR 
EIGN  INFLUENCE. 

609.  ATTAINDER,  Bills  of.— The  9cca- 
sion  and  proper  office  of  a  bill  of  attainder 
is    this :      When    a    person    charged    with    a 
crime  withdraws  from  justice,  or  resists  it  by 
force,  either  in  his  own  or  a  foreign  country, 
no  other  recourse  of  bringing  him  to  trial  or 
punishment   being   practicable,    a   special    act 
is  passed  by  the  legislature  adapted  to  the 
particular   case.      This   prescribes   to   him   a 
sufficient    time   to    appear    and    submit    to    a 
trial  by  his  peers;  declares  that  his  refusal  to 
appear  shall  be  taken  as  a  confession  of  guilt, 
as  in  the  ordinary  case  of  an  offender  at  the 
bar   refusing   to   plead,    and   pronounces   the 
sentence  which  would  have  been  rendered  on 
his   confession   or   conviction    in   a   court  of 
law.     No  doubt  that  these  acts  of  attainder 
have  been  abused  in  England  as  instruments 
of  vengeance  by  a  successful  over  a  defeated 
party.     But  what  institution  is  insusceptible 
of  abuse  in  wicked  hands? — To  L.  H.  GIRAR- 
DIN.    vi,  440.     FORD  ED.,  ii,  151.     (M.,  1815.) 

_  ATTIRE.— See  DRESS. 

610.  ATTORNEY       GENERAL,       Ap 
pointment  of. — An   Attorney  General   shall 
be  appointed  by  the  House  of  Representatives. 
PROPOSED  VA.  CONSTITUTION.     FORD  EDV  ii,  20. 
(June   1776.) 

611.  ATTORNEYS,   Federal  District.— 

The  only  shield  for  our  republican  citizens 
against  the  federalism  of  the  courts  is  to 
have  the  attorneys  and  marshals  republicans. 
— To  A.  STUART,  iv,  394.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  47. 
(M.,  April  1801.) 

612. .     Republican   attorneys  and 

marshals,  being  the  doors  of  entrance  into 
the  courts,  are  indispensably  necessary  as  a 
shield  to  the  republican  part  of  our  fellow 
citizens,  which,  I  believe,  is  the  main  body  of 
the  people. — To  WILLIAM  B.  GILES,  iv,  381. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  25.  (W.,  1801.) 

613.  AUBAINE,  Droit  d'.— The  expres 
sion  in  the  eleventh  article  of  our  treaty  of 
commerce  and  amity  with  France,  "  that  the 
subjects  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  re 
puted  Aubaines  in  France,  and  consequently 
shall  be  exempted  from  the  Droit  d'Aubaine, 
or  other  similar  duty,  under  what  name  so 
ever,"  has  been  construed  so  rigorously  to 
the  letter,  as  to  consider  us  as  Aubaines  in 
the  colonies  of  France.  Our  intercourse  with 
those  colonies  is  so  great,  that  frequent  and 
important  losses  will  accrue  to  individuals,  if 
this  construction  be  continued.  *  *  *  I  pre 
sume  that  the  enlightened  Assembly  now  en 
gaged  in  reforming  the  remains  of  feudal 


abuse  among  them,  will  not  leave  so  inhospit 
able  an  one  as  the  Droit  d'Aubaine  existing 
in  France,  or  any  of  its  dominions.  If  this 
may  be  hoped  it  will  be  better  that  you  should 
not  trouble  the  minister  with  any  application 
for  its  abolition  in  the  colonies  as  to  us.  This 
would  be  creating  into  a  special  favor  to  us 
the  extinction  of  a  general  abuse,  which  will, 
I  presume,  extinguish  of  itself.  Only  be  so 
good  as  to  see,  that  in  abolishing  this  odious 
law  in  France,  its  abolition  in  the  colonies, 
also,  be  not  omitted  by  mere  oversight;  but 
if,  contrary  to  expectation,  this  fragment  of 
barbarism  be  suffered  to  remain,  then  it  will 
become  necessary  to  bring  forward  the  en 
closed  case,  and  press  a  liberal  and  just  ex 
position  of  our  treaty,  so  as  to  relieve  our 
citizens  from  this  species  of  risk  and  ruin 
hereafter. — To  WILLIAM  SHORT.  iii,  189. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  234.  (N.Y.,  1790.) 

—  AURORA       NEWSPAPER.— See 

DUANE. 

—  AUSTRIA,  Emperor  of. — See  JOSEPH 
II. 

614.  AUTHORITY,  Civil  and  Military. 
— Instead  of  subjecting  the  military  to  the 
civil  power,  his  Majesty  has  expressly  made 
the  civil  subordinate  to  the  military.  But 
can  his  Majesty  thus  put  down  all  law  under 
his  feet?  Can  he  erect  a  power  superior  to 
that  which  erected  himself?  He  has  done  it 
indeed  by  force,  but  let  him  remember  that 
force  cannot  give  right. — RIGHTS  OF  BRITISH 
AMERICA,  i,  140.  FORD  ED.,  i,  445.  (1774.) 

615. .     He    [George    III.],    has 

endeavored  to  pervert  the  exercises  of  the 
Kingly  office  in  Virginia  into  a  detestable  and 
insupportable  tyranny,  *  *  *  by  [affecting]  to 
render  the  military  independent  of  and  su 
perior  to  the  civil  power. — PROPOSED  VA. 
CONSTITUTION.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  19.  (June  1776.) 

616.  -  — .He  has  affected  to  render 
the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to, 
the  civil  power. — DECLARATION  OF  INDEPEND 
ENCE  AS  DRAWN  BY  JEFFERSON. 

617. .      The    military    shall    be 

subordinate  to  the  civil  power. — PROPOSED  VA. 
CONSTITUTION,     viii,  452.     FORD  ED.,  iii,  3^2. 
(1783.) 

618. .     A  distinction  is  kept  up 

between  the  civil  and  military  which  it  is 
for  the  happiness  of  both  to  obliterate. — To 
GENERAL  WASHINGTON,  i,  335.  FORD  ED., 
iii.  467.  (A.,  1784.) 

619. .     A    distinction     [will    be 

continued]  between  the  civil  and  military 
which  it  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  whole 
to  obliterate  as  soon  as  possible. — To  M.  DE 
MEUNIER.  ix,  270.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  175.  (P., 
1786.) 

620. .    I  do  not  see  how  they  [the 

framers  of  the  French  constitution]  can  pro 
hibit  altogether  the  aid  of  the  military  in 
cases  of  riot,  and  yet  I  doubt  whether  they 
can  descend  from  the  sublimity  of  ancient 
military  pride,  to  let  a  MarechrJ  of  France 


Authority 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


64 


-vith  his  troops,  be  commanded  by  a  magis 
trate.  They  cannot  conceive  that  General 
Washington,  at  the  head  of  his  army,  during 
the  late  war,  could  have  been  commanded  by 
a  common  constable  to  go  as  his  posse  comi- 
tatus  to  suppress  a  mob,  and  that  Count 
Rochambeau,  when  he  was  arrested  at  the 
head  of  his  army  by  a  sheriff,  must  have  gone 
to  jail  if  he  had  not  given  bail  to  appear  in 
court.  Though  they  have  gone  astonishing 
lengths,  they  are  not  yet  thus  far.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  not  knowing  how  to 
use  the  military  as  a  civil  weapon,  they  will 
do  too  much  or  too  little  with  it. — To  WILL 
IAM  CARMICHAEL.  iii,  90.  (P.,  Aug.  1789.) 

621. .  The  military  shall  be 

subordinate  to  the  civil  authority. — FRENCH 
CHARTER  OF  RIGHTS,  iii,  47.  FORD  ED.,  v, 
102.  (P.,  1789.) 

622. .  Bonaparte  has  transferred 

the  destinies  of  the  republic  from  the  civil 
to  the  military  arm.  Some  will  use  this  as  a 
lesson  against  the  practicability  of  republican 
government.  I  read  it  as  a  lesson  against  the 
danger  of  standing  armies. — To  SAMUEL 
ADAMS,  iv,  322.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  425.  (Pa., 
Feb.  1800.) 

623. .  The  supremacy  of  the 

civil  over  the  military  authority,  I  deem  [one 
of  the]  essential  principles  of  our  government 
and,  consequently  [one]  which  ought  to 
shape  its  administration.— FIRST  INAUGURAL 
ADDRESS,  viii,  4.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  5.  (1801.) 

624. .     I  sincerely  wish  General 

Wilkinson  could  be  appointed  as  you  pro 
pose.  But  besides  the  objection  from  prin 
ciple,  that  no  military  commander  should  be 
so  placed  as  to  have  no  civil  superior,  his 
residence  at  Natchez  is  entirely  inconsistent 
with  his  superintendence  of  the  military  posts. 
— To  SAMUEL  SMITH.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  29. 
(W.,  March  1801.) 

625. .  Not  a  single  fact  has  ap 
peared,  which  occasions  me  to  doubt  that  I 
could  have  made  a  fitter  appointment  than 
General  Wilkinson.  One  qualm  of  principle 
I  acknowledge  I  do  feel,  I  mean  the  union 
of  the  civil  and  military  authority.  You  re 
member  that  when  I  went  into  office  *  *  *  he 
was  pressed  on  me  to  be  made  Governor  of 
the  Mississippi  Territory,  and  that  I  refused 
it  on  that  very  principle.  When,  therefore, 
the  House  of  Representatives  took  that 
ground,  I  was  not  insensible  to  _  its  having 
some  weight.  But  in  the  appointment  to 
Louisiana,  I  did  not  think  myself  departing 
from  my  own  principle,  because  I  consider 
it  not  as  a  civil  government,  but  merely  a 
military  station.  The  Legislature  had  sanc 
tioned  that  idea  by  the  establishment  of  the 
office  of  the  Commandant,  in  which  were 
completely  blended  the  civil  and  military 
powers.  It  seemed  therefore,  that  the  Gov 
ernor  should  be  in  suit  with  them.  I  ob 
served,  too,  that  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  on  the  very  day  they  passed  the  stric 
ture  on  this  union  of  authorities,  passed  a  bill 
making  the  Governor  of  Michigan  com 


mander  of  the  regular  troops  which  should 
at  any  time  be  within  his  government.  —  To 
SAMUEL  SMITH,  v,  13.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  450. 
(W.,  May  1806.) 

626.  AUTHORITY,  Civil  and  Military 
united.  —  From  a  belief  that,  under  the  pres 
sure  of  the    [British]    invasion  under  which 
we  [Virginia]  were  then  [1781]  laboring,  the 
public  would  have  more  confidence  in  a  mil 
itary  chief,  and  that  the  military  commander, 
being    invested    with    the    civil    power    also, 
both    might   be    wielded    with    more    energy, 
promptitude  and  effect  for  the  defence  of  the 
State.    I    resigned    the     administration     [the 
Governorship]  at  the  end  of  my  second  year, 
[1781]  and  General  Nelson  was  appointed  to 
succeed  me.  —  AUTOBIOGRAPHY,     i,   50.     FORD 
ED.,  i,  70.     (1821.) 

627.  AUTHORITY,    Conflict    of.—  Con 
gress  having  *  *  *  directed  that  they  [British 
prisoners  in  Virginia]  should  not  be  removed, 
and  our  Assembly  that  they  should,  the  Ex 
ecutive  [of  Virginia]  are  placed  in  a  very  dis 
agreeable  situation.     We  can  order  them  to 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  but  our  authority 
will  not  land  them  on  the  opposite  shore.  — 
To  BENJAMIN  HARRISON.     FORD  ED.,  ii,  439. 


628.  AUTHORITY,    Constitution    and. 

—  The  authority  of  the  people  is  a  necessary 
foundation  for  a  constitution.  —  To  JOHN  H. 
PLEASANTS.  vii,  345.  FORD  ED.,  x,  302.  (M., 
1824.) 

629.  AUTHORITY,    Custom    as.—  Gen 
eral    example    is  weighty  authority.  —  NOTES 
ON  COINAGE,     vii,  164.     (1790.) 

630.  AUTHORITY,         Enforcing.—  We 

would  do  anything  in  our  power  to  support 
and  manifest  your  authority,  were  anything 
wanting.  But  nothing  can  be  added  to  the 
provision  which  the  military  institutions  have 
made  to  enforce  obedience,  and  it  would  be 
presumption  in  us  to  say  what  is  that  pro 
vision  to  you.  —  To  MAJOR-GENERAL  STEUBEN. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  491.  (R.,  1781.) 

631.  ---  .   We  cannot  be  respected  by 
France  as  a  neutral  nation,  nor  by  the  world 
ourselves   as   an   independent  one,   if  we   do 
not   take    effectual    measures    to    support,    at 
every  risk,  our  authority  in  our  own  harbors. 
—To  JAMES   MADISON,     iv,   558.     FORD  ED., 
viii,  315.     (M.,  Aug.  1804.) 

632.  AUTHORITY,   Habits   of.—  If  the 

President  can  be  preserved  a  few  years  till 
habits  of  authority  and  obedience  [to  the  new 
government]  can  be  established  generally,  we 
have  nothing  to  fear.  —  To  M.  DE  LAFAYETTE. 
iii,  132.  FORD  ED.,  v.  152.  (N.Y.,  April  1790.) 

633.  AUTHORITY,  Obligation  and.—  It 
is  not  the  name,  but  the  authority  that    ren 
ders  an  act  obligatory.  —  NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA. 
viii,  365.    FORD  ED.,  iii,  228.     (1782.) 

634.  AUTHORITY,  Opposition  to.—  My 
long  and  intimate  knowledge  of  my  country 
men  satisfies  me,  that  let  there  ever  be  occa 
sion  to  display  the  banners  of  the  law,  and 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Authority 


the  world  will  see  how  few  and  pitiful  are 
those  who  will  array  themselves  in  opposi 
tion  — TO  DR.  JAMES  BROWN,  v,  379.  FORD 
ED.,  ix,  211.  (W.,  1808.) 

635.  AUTHORITY,   The  People  and.— 

Leave  no  authority  not  responsible  to  the 
people. — To  ISAAC  H.  TIFFANY.  vii,  32. 
(M.,  1816.) 

636. .     All  authority  belongs  to 

the  people. — To  SPENCER  ROANE.  vii,  213. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  190.  (M.,  1821.) 

637.  AUTHORITY,  Religion  and  Fed 
eral. — Civil  powers  alone  have  been  given  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  no 
authority  to  direct  the  religious  exercises  of 
his  constituents.— To  REV.  SAMUEL  MILLER. 
v,  237.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  175.  (W.,  1808.) 

638. .    No  power  to  prescribe  any 

religious  exercise,  or  to  assume  authority  in 
religious  discipline,  has  been  delegated  to  the 
General  Government.  It  must  then  rest  with 
States,  so  far  as  it  can  be  in  any  human  au 
thority. — To  REV.  SAMUEL  MILLER,  v,  237. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  174.  (W.,  1808.) 

639.  AUTHORITY,      Repudiated.— The 
British   Parliament  has  no  right  to  exercise 
authority  over  us — RIGHTS  OF  BRITISH  AM 
ERICA,    i,  130.    FORD  ED.,  i,  434.  ((1774.) 

640.  AUTHORITY,        Resistance        to 
usurped. — It  is  a  dangerous  lesson  to  say  to 
the  people  "  whenever  your  functionaries  ex 
ercise  unlawful  authority  over  you,  if  you  do 
not   go   into    actual     resistance,     it    will    be 
deemed  acquiescence  and  confirmation."  How 
long  had  we  acquiesced  under  usurpations  of 
the  British  parliament?     Had  that  confirmed 
them  in  right,  and  made  our  Revolution  a 
wrong?     Besides   no   authority  has  yet  de 
cided    whether    this    resistance    must   be   in 
stantaneous:  when  the  right  to  resist  ceases, 
or    whether    it   has   yet   ceased?— To   JOHN 
HAMBDEN  PLEASANTS.     vii,     345.     FORD    ED., 
x,  302.     (M.,  1824.) 

641.  AUTHORITY,        Self -constituted. 
— I  deem  no  government  safe  which  is  under 
the  vassalage  of  any  self-constituted  author 
ities,  or  any  other  authority  than  that  of  the 
nation,  or  its  regular  functionaries. — To  AL 
BERT  GALLATIN.     iv,  519.     FORD  ED.,  viii,  285. 
(W.,  Dec.   1803.) 

642.  AUTHORITY,    Source   of.— I    con 
sider  the  source  of  authority  with  us  to  be 
the  Nation.     Their  will,  declared  through  its 
proper  organ,  is  valid,  till  revoked  by  their 
will  declared  through  its  proper  organ  again 
also.     Between  1776  and  1789.  the  proper  or 
gan  for  pronouncing  their  will,  whether  legis 
lative  or  executive,  was  a  Congress  formed 
in  a  particular  manner.     Since   1789,  it  is  a 
Congress  formed  in  a  different  manner,  for 
laws,  and  a  President,  elected  in  a  particular 
way,    for    making    appointments    and    doing 
other  executive  acts.     The  laws  and  appoint 
ments  of  the  ancient  Congress  were  as  valid 
and  permanent  in  their  nature,  as  the  laws 
of  the  new  Congress,  or  appointments  of  the 


new  Executive ;  these  laws  and  appointments, 
in  both  cases,  deriving  equally  their  source 
from  the  will  of  the  Nation. — To  PRESIDENT 
WASHINGTON.  iii,  332.  FORD  ED.,  v,  437 
(Pa.,  1792.) 

643- .     I  consider  the  people  who 

constitute  a  society  or  nation  as  the  source 
of  all  authority  in  that  nation;  as  free  to 
transact  their  common  concerns  by  any 
agents  they  think  proper;  to  change  these 
agents  individually,  or  the  organization  of 
them  in  form  or  function  whenever  they 
please ;  that  all  the  acts  done  by  these  agents 
under  the  authority  of  the  nation  are  the  acts 
of  the  nation,  are  obligatory  to  them  and  in 
ure  to  their  use,  and  can  in  no  wise  be  an 
nulled  or  affected  by  any  change  in  the  form 
of  the  government,  or  of  the  persons  admin 
istering  it. — OPINION  ON  FRENCH  TREATIES. 
vii,  612.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  220.  (1793.) 

644.  AUTHORITY,  Upholding.— In  no 
country  on  earth  is  it  [forcible  opposition  to  the 
law]   so  impracticable  as  in  one  where  every 
man  feels  a  vital  interest  in  maintaining  the 
authority  of  the  laws,  and  instantly  engages 
in  it  as  in  his  own  personal  cause. — To  BEN 
JAMIN   SMITH,     v,   293.     FORD  ED.,  ix,   195. 
(M.,  1808.) 

645.  -  — .    Forcible    opposition      [to 
the  embargo]    will   rally  the   whole  body  of 
republicans  of  every  shade  to  a  single  point. — 
that  of  supporting  the  public  authority. — To 
ALBERT  GALLATIN.    v,  347.     (M.,  Aug.  1808.) 

646.  AUTHORITY,    Usurpation    of.— 

Necessities  which  dissolve  a  government  do 
not  convey  its  authority  to  an  oligarchy  or  a 
monarchy.  They  throw  back  into  the  hands 
of  the  people  the  powers  they  had  delegated, 
and  leave  them  as  individuals  to  shift  for 
themselves.— NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,  viii,  369. 
FORD  EDV  iii,  233.  (1782.) 

647.  AUTHORITY,     Washington     and 
Civil. — You     [General     Washington]     have 
conducted    the    great    military    contest    with 
wisdom   and    fortitude,    invariably   regarding 
the  rights  of  the  civil  power  through  all  dis 
asters     and     changes.* — CONGRESS    TO    GEN. 
WASHINGTON.     (Dec.  23,1783.) 

-  AUTHORS.— See  LITERATURE. 

648.  AVARICE,  Commercial. — It  seems 
to  me  that  in  proportion  as  commercial  ava 
rice  and  corruption  advance  on  us  from  the 
North  and  East,  the  principles  of  free  gov 
ernment   are   to   retire    to    the    agricultural 
States  of  the  South  and  West,  as  their  last 
asylum    and    bulwark. — To    HENRY    MIDDLE- 
TON,   vi,  91.    (M.,  1813.) 

_  BACON'S  REBELLION.— See  REBEL 
LION. 

649.  BADGES,     Utilizing.— Let     them 
[Cincinnati  society]  melt  up  their  eagles  and 
add  the  mass  to  the  distributable  fund,  that 

*  Jefferson  wrote  the  address  to  Washington  on 
surrendering  his  commission.  It  is  not  included  in 
either  of  the  two  leading  editions  of  Jefferson's 
writings.— EDITOR. 


Bainbridge  (William) 
Bank 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


66 


their  descendants  may  have  no  temptation 
to  hang  them  in  their  button  holes. — To  M. 
DE  MEUNIER.  ix,  271.  FORD  ED.,  iv.,  176. 
(P.,  1786.)  See  BIRTHDAY. 

650.  BAINBRIDGE  (William),  Victory 
of.— After  the  loss  of  the  Philadelphia,  Cap 
tain  Bainbridge  had  a  character  to  redeem.     He 
has  done  it  most  honorably,  and  no  one  is  more 
gratified    by    it    than    myself. — To     MATTHEW 
CARR.    vi,  132.     (M.,  1813.) 

651.  BALLOONS,  Experiments  with.— 

There  seems  a  possibility  that  the  great  desid 
eratum  in  the  use  of  the  balloon  may  be  ob 
tained.  There  are  two  persons  at  Javel  (oppo 
site  to  Auteuil),  who  are  pushing  this  matter. 
They  are  able  to  rise  and  fall  at  wity,  without 
expending  their  gas,  and  they  can  deflect  forty- 
five  degrees  from  the  course  of  the  wind. — To 
R.  IZARD.  i,  443-  (P-,  1785-) 

652.  BALLOONS,   Tall  from.— An   acci 
dent   has   happened   here    [France]    which   will 
probably    damp    the    ardor    with    which    aerial 
navigation  has  been  pursued.    Monsieur  Pilatre 
de  Roziere  had  been  waiting  for  many  months 
at  Boulogne  a  fair  wind  to  cross  the  channel  in 
a    balloon    which    was    compounded    of    one    of 
inflammable    air,    and    another    called   a    Mont- 
golfier    with    rarefied    air    only.     He    at    length 
thought  the  wind   fair  and  with   a  companion, 
Romain,     ascended.     After     proceeding     in     a 
proper   direction   about  two   leagues,   the   wind 
changed    and    brought    them     again    over    the 
French  coast.     Being  at  the  height  of  about  six 
thousand   feet,    some   accident,   unknown,   burst 
the  balloon  of  inflammable  air,  and  the  Mont- 
golfier,    being    unequal    alone    to    sustain    their 
weight,   they   precipitated   from   that   height   to 
the    earth    and    were    crushed    to    atoms. — To 
JOSEPH  JONES,     i,  353.     (P-,  June  1785.) 

653. .  The  arts,  instead  of  ad 
vancing,  have  lately  received  a  check  which  will 
probably  render  stationary  for  awhile,  that 
branch  of  them  which  had  promised  to  elevate 
us  to  the  skies.  Pilatre  de  Roziere,  who  had 
first  ventured  into  that  region,  has  fallen  a  sac 
rifice  to  it.  In  an  attempt  to  pass  from  Bou 
logne  over  to  England,  a  change  in  the  wind 
having  brought  him  on  the  coast  of  France, 
some  accident  happened  to  his  balloon  of  in 
flammable  air,  which  occasioned  it  to  burst, 
and  that  of  rarefied  air  combined  with  it  being 
then  unequal  to  the  weight,  they  fell  to  the 
earth  from  a  height,  which  the  first  reports 
made  six  thousand  feet,  but  later  ones  have 
reduced  to  sixteen  hundred.  Pilatre  de  Roziere 
was  dead  when  a  peasant  distant  one  hundred 
yards  away,  ran  to  him  ;  but  Romain,  his  com 
panion,  lived  about  ten  minutes,  though  speech 
less,  and  without  his  senses. — To  CHARLES 
THOMSON,  i,  355.  (P.,  1785.) 

654.  BALLOONS,      Peril      of.— Though 
navigation  by  water  is  attended  with   frequent 
accidents,   and   in   its   infancy   must  have  been 
attended    with    more,    yet    these    are    now    so 
familiar  that  we  think  little  of  them,  while  that 
which   has   signalized   the  two  first  martyrs  to 
the    aeronautical    art   will    probably    deter   very 
many   from   the   experiments   they   would   have 
been   disposed   to   make. — To    CHARLES   THOM 
SON,     i,   354.     (P.,    1785.) 

-  BALLOT.— See  SUFFRAGE. 
—  BANISHMENT.— See  EXILE. 

655.  BANK    (National    1813),    Charter 
of. — The  scheme  is  for  Congress  to  establish 


a  national  bank,  suppose  of  thirty  millions 
capital,  of  which  they  shall  contribute  ten 
millions  in  six  per  cent,  stock,  the  States  ten 
millions,  and  individuals  ten  millions,  one 
half  of  the  two  last  contributions  to  be  of  a 
similar  stock,  for  which  the  parties  are  to 
give  cash  to  Congress;  the  whole,  however, 
to  be  under  the  exclusive  management  of  the 
individual  subscribers,  who  are  to  name  all 
the  directors ;  neither  Congress  nor  the  States 
having  any  power  of  interference  in  its  ad 
ministration.  Discounts  are  to  be  at  five  per 
cent.,  but  the  profits  are  expected  to  be  at  seven 
per  cent.  Congress  then  will  be  paying  six 
per  cent,  on  twenty  millions,  and  receiving 
seven  per  cent,  on  ten  millions,  being  its 
third  of  the  institution;  so  that  on  the  ten 
millions  cash  which  they  receive  from  the 
States  and  individuals,  they  will,  in  fact,  have 
to  pay  but  five  per  cent,  interest.  This  is  the 
bait.  The  charter  is  proposed  to  be  for  forty 
or  fifty  years,  and  if  any  future  augmenta 
tions  should  take  place,  the  individual  propri 
etors  are  to  have  the  privilege  of  being  the 
sole  subscribers  for  that.  Congress  are  fur 
ther  allowed  to  issue  to  the  amount  of  three 
millions  of  notes,  bearing  interest,  which  they 
are  to  receive  back  in  payment  for  lands  at  a 
premium  of  five  or  ten  per  cent.,  or  as  sub 
scriptions  for  canals,  roads,  and  bridges,  in 
which  undertakings  they  are,  of  course,  to 
be  engaged.  This  is  a  summary  of  the  case 
as  I  understand  it;  but  it  is  very  possible  I 
may  not  understand  it  in  all  its  parts,  these 
schemes  being  always  made  unintelligible  for 
the  gulls  who  are  to  enter  into  them. — To  J. 
W.  EPPES.  vi,  228.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  403.  (M., 
Nov.  1813.) 

656.  BANK  (National  1813),  Consid 
erations  on. — The  advantages  and  disadvan 
tages  shall  be  noted  promiscuously  as  they 
occur;  leaving  out  the  speculation  of  canals 
&c.,  which,  being  an  episode  only  in  the 
scheme,  may  be  omitted,  to  disentangle  it  as 
much  as  we  can.  i.  Congress  are  to  receive 
five  millions  from  the  States  (if  they  will  en 
ter  into  this  "partnership,  which  few  probably 
will),  and  five  millions  from  the  individual 
subscribers,  in  exchange  for  ten  millions  of 
six  per  cent,  stock,  one  per  cent,  of  which, 
however,  they  will  make  on  their  ten  millions 
of  stock  remaining  in  bank,  and  so  reduce  it, 
in  effect,  to  a  loan  of  ten  millions  at  five  per 
cent,  interest.  This  is  good ;  but,  2.  They  au 
thorize  this  bank  to  throw  into  circulation 
ninety  millions  of  dollars  (three  times  the 
capital),  which  increases  our  circulating  me 
dium  fifty  per  cent.;  depreciates  proportion- 
ably  the  present  value  of  a  dollar,  and  raises 
the  price  of  all  future  purchases  in  the  same 
proportion.  3.  This  loan  of  ten  millions  at 
five  per  cent.,  is  to  be  once  for  all,  only. 
Neither  the  terms  of  the  scheme,  nor  their 
own  prudence  could  ever  permit  them  to 
add  to  the  circulation  in  the  same,  or  any 
other  way,  for  the  supplies  of  the  succeeding 
years  of  the  war.  These  succeeding  years 
then  are  to  be  left  unprovided  for.  and  the 
means  of  doing  it  in  a  great  measure  pre 
cluded.  4.  The  individual  subscribers,  on 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bank 


paying  their  own  five  millions  of  cash  to  Con 
gress,  become  the  depositors  of  ten  millions 
of  stock  belonging  to  Congress,  five  millions 
belonging  to  the  States,  and  five  millions  to 
themselves,  say  twenty  millions,  with  which, 
as  no  one  has  a  right  ever  to  see  their  books, 
or  to  ask  a  question,  they  may  choose  their 
time  for  running  away,  after  adding  to  their 
booty  the  proceeds  of  as  much  of  their  own 
notes  as  they  shall  be  able  to  throw  into  cir 
culation.  5.  The  subscribers  may  be  one, 
two,  or  three,  or  more  individuals  (many 
single  individuals  being  able  to  pay  in  the  five 
millions),  whereupon  this  bank  oligarchy  or 
monarchy  enters  the  field  with  ninety  millions 
of  dollars,  to  direct  and  control  the  politics  of 
the  nation ;  and  of  the  influence  of  these  in 
stitutions  on  our  politics,  and  into  what  scale 
it  will  be  thrown,  we  have  had  abundant  ex 
perience.  Indeed,  England  herself  may  be 
the  real,  while  her  friend  and  trustee  here 
shall  be  the  nominal  and  sole  subscriber. 
6.  This  state  of  things  is  to  be  fastened  on 
us,  without  the  power  of  relief,  for  forty  or 
fifty  years.  That  is  to  say,  the  eight  millions 
of  people  now  existing,  for  the  sake  of  re*- 
ceiving  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
apiece,  at  five  per  cent,  interest,  are  to  sub 
ject  the  fifty  millions  of  people  who  are  to 
succeed  them  within  that  term,  to  the  pay 
ment  of  forty-five  millions  of  dollars,  prin 
cipal  and  interest,  which  will  be  payable  in  the 
course  of  the  fifty  years.  7.  But  the  great 
and  national  advantage  is  to  be  the  relief  of 
the  present  scarcity  of  money,  which  is  pro 
duced  and  proved  by,  i.  The  additional  in 
dustry  created  to  supply  a  variety  of  articles 
for  the  troops,  ammunition,  &c.  2.  By  the 
cash  sent  to  the  frontiers,  and  the  vacuum  oc 
casioned  in  the  trading  towns  by  that.  3. 
By  the  late  loans.  4.  By  the  necessity  of 
recurring  to  shavers  with  good  paper,  which 
the  existing  banks  are  not  able  to  take  up; 
and  5.  By  the  numerous  applications  of  bank 
charters  showing  that  an  increase  of  circu 
lating  medium  is  wanting. — To  J.  W.  EPPES. 
vi,  229.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  403.  (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 
657.  BANK  (National  1813),  Increased 
Medium  and. — Let  us  examine  these  causes 
and  proofs  of  the  want  of  our  increase  of  me 
dium,  one  by  one.  i.  The  additional  In 
dustry  created  to  supply  a  variety  of  articles 
for  troops,  ammunition,  &c.  Now,  I  had  al 
ways  supposed  that  war  produced  a  diminu 
tion  of  industry,  by  the  number  of  hands 
it  withdraws  from  industrious  pursuits  for 
employment  in  arms,  &c.,  which  are  totally 
unproductive.  And  if  it  calls  for  new  in 
dustry  in  the  articles  of  ammunition  and  other 
military  supplies,  the  hands  are  borrowed 
from  other  branches  on  which  the  demand  is 
slackened  by  the  war ;  so  that  it  is  but  a  shift 
ing  of  these  hands  from  one  pursuit  to  another. 
2.  The  cash  sent  to  the  frontiers  occasions  a 
vacuum  in  the  trading  towns,  which  re 
quires  a  new  supply.  Let  us  examine  what 
are  the  calls  for  money  to  the  frontiers.  Not 
for  clothing,  tents,  ammunition,  arms,  which 
are  all  bought  in  the  trading  towns.  Not  for 
provisions;  for  although  these  are  bought 


partly  in  the  immediate  country,  bank  bills 
are  more  acceptable  there  than  even  in  the 
trading  towns.  The  pay  of  the  army  calls 
for  some  cash,  but  not  a  great  deal,  as  bank 
notes  are  as  acceptable  with  the  military  men, 
perhaps  more  so ;  and  what  cash  is  sent  must 
find  its  way  back  again  in  exchange  for  the 
wants  of  the  upper  from  the  lower  country. 
For  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  cash  stays 
accumulating  there  forever.  3.  This  scarcity 
has  been  occasioned  by  the  late  loans.  But 
does  the  government  borrow  money  to  keep 
it  in  their  coffers?  Is  it  not  instantly  re 
stored  to  circulation  by  payment  for  its  nec 
essary  supplies?  And  are  we  to  restore  a 
vacuum  of  twenty  millions  of  dollars  by  an 
emission  of  ninety  millions?  4.  The  want  of 
medium  is  proved  by  the  recurrence  of  indi 
viduals  with  good  paper  to  brokers  at  exor 
bitant  interest;  and  5.  By  the  numerous  ap 
plications  to  the  State  governments  for  ad 
ditional  banks;  New  York  wanting  eighteen 
millions,  Pennsylvania  ten  millions,  &c.  But 
say  more  correctly,  the  speculators  and  spend 
thrifts  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  but 
never  consider  them  as  being  the  States  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  These  two 
items  shall  be  considered  together. — To  J.  W. 
EPPES.  vi,  231.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  405.  (M., 
Nov.  1813.) 

658.  BANK    (National     1813),    Paper, 
Specie    and.— It     is    a    litigated    question, 
whether  the  circulation  of  paper,  rather  than 
of  specie,  is  a  good  or  an  evil.    In  the  opinion 
of   England   and   of   English   writers   it  is   a 
good ;   in  that  of  all  other  nations  it  is  an 
evil ;  and  excepting  England  and  her  copyist, 
the  United  States,  there  is  not  a  nation  ex 
isting.  I  believe,  which  tolerates  a  paper  cir 
culation.     The  experiment  is  going  on,  how 
ever,    desperately   in    England,    pretty   boldly 
with  us.  and  at  the  end  of  the  chapter,  we 
shall  see  which  opinion  experience  approves : 
for  I  believe  it  to  be  one  of  those  cases  where 
mercantile  clamor  will  bear  down  reason,  un 
til  it  is  corrected  by  ruin. — To  J.  W.  EPPES. 
vi,  232.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  405.     (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

659.  BANK    (National    1813),    Uncon 
stitutional. — After   the    solemn   decision   of 
Congress  against  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of 
the  Bank    of    the    United    States,    and    the 
grounds  of  that  decision    (the  want  of  con 
stitutional  power),  I  had  imagined  that  ques 
tion  at  rest,  and  that  no  "more  applications 
would  be  made  to  them  for  the  incorporation 
of  banks.     The  opposition  on  that  ground  to 
its  first  establishment,  the  small  majority  by 
which  it  was  overborne,  and  the  means  prac 
ticed  for  obtaining  it.  cannot  be  already  for 
gotten.     The  law  having  passed,  however,  by 
a  majority,  its  opponents,  true  to  the  sacred 
principle  of  submission  to  a  majority,  suffered 
the  law  to  flow  through  its  term  without  ob 
struction.     During  this,  the  nation  had  time 
to  consider  the  constitutional   question,   and 
when   the   renewal   was   proposed,   they  con 
demned    it,    not   by    their    representatives    in 
Congress    only,    but   by   express    instructions 
from   different   organs  of  their  will.     Here 


Bank 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


68 


then  we  might  stop,  and  consider  the  me 
morial  as  answered.  But,  setting  authority 
apart,  we  will  examine  whether  the  Legisla 
ture  ought  to  comply  with  it,  even  if  they 
had  the  power. —  To  J.  W.  EPPES.  vi,  232. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  406.  (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

660. .     The    idea    of    creating   a 

national  bank,  I  do  not  concur  in,  because  it 
seems  now  decided  that  Congress  has  not  that 
power  (although  I  sincerely  wish  they  had 
it  exclusively),  and  because  I  think  there  is 
already  a  vast  redundancy,  rather  than  a 
scarcity  of  paper  medium.  The  rapid  rise  in 
the  nominal  price  of  land  and  labor  (while 
war  and  blockade  should  produce  a  fall) 
proves  the  progressive  state  of  the  depre 
ciation  of  our  medium. — To  THOMAS  LAW. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  433.  (M.,  1813.) 

661.  BANK    OF    NORTH    AMERICA, 

Incorporation  of. — The  Philadelphia  Bank 
was  incorporated  by  Congress.  This  is, 
perhaps,  the  only  instance  of  their  having 
done  that  which  they  had  no  power  to  do. 
Necessity  obliged  them  to  give  this  institution 
the  appearance  of  their  countenance,  because 
in  that  moment  they  were  without  any  other 
resource  for  money. — COUNT  VAN  HOGEN- 
DORP.  ii,  24.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  286.  (P.,  1786.) 

662.  BANK    OF    NORTH    AMERICA, 

Pennsylvania  ,  and.— The  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  passed  an  act  of  incorporation 
for  the  bank,  and  declared  that  the  holders  of 
stock  should  be  responsible  only  to  the 
amount  of  their  stock.  Lately  that  Legisla 
ture  has  repealed  their  act.  The  consequence 
is,  that  the  bank  is  now  altogether  a  private 
institution,  and  every  holder  is  liable  for  its 
engagements  in  his  whole  property.  This 
has  had  a  curious  effect.  It  has  given  those 
who  deposit  money  in  the  bank  a  greater 
faith  in  it,  while  it  has  rendered  the  holders 
very  discontented,  as  being  more  exposed  to 
risk,  and  it  has  induced  many  to  sell  it,  so 
that  I  have  heard  (I  know  not  how  truly) 
the  bank  stock  sells  somewhat  below  par. — 
To  COUNT  VAN  HOGENDORP.  ii,  24.  FORD 
ED.,  iv,  286.  (P.,  1786.) 

663.  BANK    (TJ.    S.),    Beginning    of. 

— A  division,  not  very  unequal,  had  *  *  * 
taken  place  in  the  honest  part  of  *  *  *  [Con 
gress  in  1791]  between  the  parties  styled  re 
publican  and  federal.  The  latter,  being  mon 
archists  in  principle,  adhered  to  [Alexander] 
Hamilton  of  course,  as  their  leader  in 
that  principle,  and  this  mercenary  pha 
lanx,*  added  to  them,  ensured  him  always 
a  majority  in  both  Houses;  so  that  the 
whole  action  of  the  Legislature  was  now  un 
der  the  direction  of  the  Treasury.  Still  the 
machine  was  not  complete.  The  effect  of  the 
Funding  system,  and  of  the  Assumption  [of 
the  State  debts],  would  be  temporary.  It 
would  be  lost  with  the  loss  of  the  individual 
members  whom  it  had  enriched,  and  some 
engine  of  influence  more  permanent  must  be 

*  Those  members  of  Congress  who,  Jefferson  be 
lieved  and  charged,  voted  for  the  Assumption  of  the 
State  debts  from  corrupt  motives.  See  ASSUMPTION. 
—EDITOR. 


contrived  while  these  myrmidons  were  yet  in 
place  to  carry  it  through  all  opposition.  This 
engine  was  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. — 
THE  ANAS,  ix,  95.  FORD  EDV  i,  164.  (1818.) 

664.  BANK  (U.  S.),  Constitutionality 
of.— The  bill  for  establishing  a  National 
Bank  undertakes  among  other  things  :— i.  To 
form  the  subscribers  into  a  corporation.  2. 
To  enable  them  in  their  corporate  capacities 
to  receive  grants  of  land;  and  so  far  is 
against  the  laws  of  Mortmain.*  3.  To  make 
alien  subscribers  capable  of  holding  lands; 
and  so  far  is  against  the  laws  of  Alienage. 
4-  To  transmit  these  lands,  on  the  death  of 
a  proprietor,  to  a  certain  line  of  successors; 
and  so  far  changes  the  course  of  Descents. 
5.  To  put  the  lands  out  of  the  reach  of  for 
feiture  or  escheat;  and  so  far  is  against  the 
laws  of  Forfeiture  and  Escheat.  6.  To  trans 
mit  personal  chattels  to  successors  in  a  cer 
tain  line;  and  so  far  is  against  the  laws  of 
Distribution.  7.  To  give  them  the  sole  and 
exclusive  right  of  banking  under  the  national 
authority;  and  so  far  is  against  the  laws  of 
Monopoly.  8.  To  communicate  to  them  a 
power  to  make  laws  paramount  to  the  laws 
of  the  States ;  for  so  they  must  be  construed, 
to  protect  the  institution  from  the  control  of 
the  State  Legislatures ;  and  so,  probably,  they 
will  be  construed. 

I  consider  the  foundation  of  the  Constitu 
tion  as  laid  on  this  ground :  f  That  "  all 
powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States, 
by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to 
the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  or  to 
the  people."  (Xllth  amendment.)  To  take 
a  single  step  beyond  the  boundaries  thus  spe 
cially  drawn  around  the  powers  of  Congress, 
is  to  take  possession  of  a  boundless  field  of 
power,  no  longer  susceptible  of  any  definition. 
The  incorporators  of  a  bank,  and  the  powers 
assumed  by  this  bill,  have  not,  in  my  opinion, 
been  delegated  to  the  United  States,  by  the 
Constitution.  I.  They  are  not  among  the 
powers  specially  enumerated:  for  these  are: 
ist  A  power  to  lay  taxes  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  the  debts  of  the  United  States;  but 
no  debt  is  paid  by  this  bill,  nor  any  tax  laid. 
Were  it  a  bill  to  raise  money,  its  origination 
in  the  Senate  would  condemn  it  by  the  Con 
stitution.  2nd  "  To  borrow  money."  But 
this  bill  neither  borrows  money  nor  ensures 
the  borrowing  it.  The  proprietors  of  the 
bank  will  be  just  as  free  as  any  other  money 
holders,  to  lend  or  not  to  lend  their  money 
to  the  public.  The  operation  proposed  in  the 
bill,  first,  to  lend  them  two  millions,  and 
then  to  borrow  them  back  again,  cannot 

*  Though  the  Constitution  controls  the  laws  of 
Mortmain  so  far  as  to  permit  Congress  itself  to  hold 
land  for  certain  purposes,  yet  not  so  far  as  to  permit 
them  to  communicate  a  similar  right  to  other  corpo 
rate  bodies.— NOTE  BY  JEFFERSON. 

t  Washington  requested  the  written  opinions  of 
the  Cabinet  on  the  constitutionality  of  the  bill. 
Those  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury,  and  of 
War,  were  in  favor  of  the  constitutionalty  of  the  act. 
Those  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  Attorney  Gen 
eral,  were  against  it.  The  opinion  of  Jefferson  is  an 
unanswerable  argument  against  the  doctrine  of  im 
plied  powers,  and  is  justly  considered  the  text  of  the 
true  republican  faith,  on  the  subject  of  constitutional 
interpretation.— RAYNER'S  Life  of  Jefferson,  p.  304. 


69 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bank 


change  the  nature  of  the  latter  act,  which  will 
still  be  in  a  payment,  and  not  a  loan,  call  it 
by  what  name  you  please.  3rd  To  "  regulate 
commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among 
the  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes."  To 
erect  a  bank,  and  to  regulate  commerce,  are 
very  different  acts.  He  who  erects  a  bank, 
creates  a  subject  of  commerce  in  its  bills;  so 
does  he  who  makes  a  bushel  of  wheat,  or 
digs  a  dollar  out  of  the  mines ;  yet  neither  of 
these  persons  regulates  commerce  thereby.  To 
make  a  thing  which  may  be  bought  and  sold, 
is  not  to  prescribe  regulations  for  buying  and 
selling.  Besides,  if  this  was  an  exercise  of 
the  power  of  regulating  commerce,  it  would 
be  void,  as  extending  as  much  to  the  internal 
commerce  of  every  State  as  to  its  external. 
For  the  power  given  to  Congress  by  the  Con 
stitution  does  not  extend  to  the  internal  regu 
lation  of  the  commerce  of  a  State  (that  is  to 
say  of  the  commerce  between  citizen  and 
citizen),  which  remains  exclusively  with  its 
own  legislature ;  but  to  its  external  commerce 
only,  that  is  to  say,  its  commerce  with  an 
other  State,  or  with  foreign  nations,  or  with 
the  Indian  tribes.  Accordingly  the  bill  does 
not  propose  the  measure  as  a  regulation  of 
trade,  but  as,  "  productive  of  considerable 
advantages  to  trade."  Still  less  are  these 
powers  covered  by  any  other  of  the  special 
enumerations. 

II.  Nor  are  they  within  either  of  the  gen 
eral  phrases,  which  are  the  two  following: — 
i.  To  lay  taxes  to  provide  for  the  general 
welfare  of  the  United  States,  that  is  to  say, 
"  to  lay  taxes  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
for  the  general  welfare."  For  the  laying  of 
taxes  is  the  power,  and  the  general  welfare 
the  purpose  for  which  the  power  is  to  be  ex 
ercised.  They  are  not  to  lay  taxes  ad  libi 
tum  for  any  purpose  they  please;  but  only 
to  pay  the  debts  or  provide  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Union.  In  like  manner,  they  are  not  to 
do  anything  they  please  to  provide  for  the 
general  welfare,  but  only  to  lay  taxes  for  that 
purpose.  To  consider  the  latter  phrase,  not 
as  describing  the  purpose  of  the  first,  but  as 
giving  a  distinct  and  independent  power  to  do 
any  act  they  please,  which  might  be  for  the 
good  of  the  Union,  would  render  all  the  pre 
ceding  and  subsequent  enumerations  of  power 
completely  useless.  It  would  reduce  the  whole 
instrument  to  a  single  phrase,  that  of  in 
stituting  a  Congress  with  power  to  do  what 
ever  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  United 
States;  and,  as  they  would  be  the  sole  judges 
of  the  good  or  evil,  it  would  be  also  a  power 
to  do  whatever  evil  they  please.  It  is  an  es 
tablished  rule  of  construction  where  a  phrase 
will  bear  either  of  two  meanings,  to  give  to 
it  that  which  will  allow  some  meaning  to  the 
other  parts  of  the  instrument  and  not  that 
which  would  render  all  the  others  useless. 
Certainly  no  such  universal  power  was  meant 
to  be  given  them.  It  was  intended  to  lace  them 
up  straitly  within  the  enumerated  powers,  and 
those  without  which,  as  means,  these  powers 
could  not  be  carried  into  effect.  It  is  known 
that  the  very  power  now  proposed  as  a  means 
was  rejected  as  an  end  by  the  Convention 


which  formed  the  Constitution.  A  propo 
sition  was  made  to  them  to  authorize  Congress 
to  open  canals,  and  an  amendatory  one  to  em 
power  them  to  incorporate.  But  the  whole 
was  rejected,  and  one  of  the  reasons  for  re 
jection  urged  in  debate  was,  that  then  they 
would  have  power  to  erect  a  bank,  which 
would  render  the  great  cities,  where  there 
were  prejudices  and  jealousies  on  the  subject, 
adverse  to  the  reception  of  the  Constitution. 
2.  The  second  general  phrase  is,  "  to  make 
all  laws  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  enumerated  powers."  But 
they  can  all  be  carried  into  execution  with 
out  a  bank.  A  bank  therefore  is  not  neces 
sary,  and  consequently  not  authorized  by  this 
phrase. 

It  has  been  urged  that  a  bank  will  give  great 
facility  or  convenience  in  the  collection  of 
taxes.  Suppose  this  were  true:  yet  the  Con 
stitution  allows  only  the  means  which  are 
"necessary"  not  those  which  are  merely 
"  convenient "  for  effecting  the  enumerated 
powers.  If  such  a  latitude  of  construction 
be  allowed  to  this  phrase  as  to  give  any  non- 
enumerated  power,  it  will  go  to  every  one, 
for  there  is  not  one  which  ingenuity  may  not 
torture  into  a  convenience  in  some  instance 
or  other,  to  some  one  of  so  long  a  list  of 
enumerated  powers.  It  would  swallow  up 
all  the  delegated  powers,  and  reduce  the 
whole  to  one  power,  as  before  observed. 
Therefore  it  was  that  the  Constitution  re 
strained  them  to  the  necessary  means,  that 
is  to  say,  to  those  means  without  which  the 
grant  of  power  would  be  nugatory.  But  let 
us  examine  this  convenience  and  see  what  it 
is.  The  report  on  this  subject,  page  3.  states 
the  only  general  convenience  to  be,  the  pre 
venting  the  transportation  and  retransporta- 
tion  of  money  between  the  States  and  the 
treasury  (for  I  pass  over  the  increase  of 
circulating  medium,  ascribed  to  it  as  a  want, 
and  which,  according  to  my  ideas  of  paper 
money,  is  clearly  a  demerit).  Every  State 
will  have  to  pay  a  sum  of  tax  money  into  the 
treasury ;  and  the  treasury  will  have  to  pay, 
in  every  State,  a  part  of  the  interest  on  the 
public  debt,  and  salaries  to  the  officers  of 
government  resident  in  that  State.  In  most 
of  the  States  there  will  still  be  a  surplus  of 
tax  money  to  come  up  to  the  seat  of  govern 
ment  for  the  officers  residing  there.  The 
payments  of  interest  and  salary  in  each  State 
may  be  made  by  treasury  orders  on  the  State 
collector.  This  will  take  up  the  great  export 
of  the  money  he  has  collected  in  his  State, 
and  consequently  prevent  the  great  mass  of  it 
from  being  drawn  out  of  the  State.  If  there 
be  a  balance  of  commerce  in  favor  of  that 
State  against  the  one  in  which  the  govern 
ment  resides,  the  surplus  of  taxes  will  be  re 
mitted  by  the  bills  of  exchange  drawn  for 
that  commercial  balance.  And  so  it  must  be 
if  there  was  a  bank.  But  if  there  be  no  bal 
ance  of  commerce,  either  direct  or  circuitous, 
all  the  banks  in  the  world  could  not  bring  up 
the  surplus  of  taxes,  but  in  the  form  of 
money.  Treasury  orders  then,  and  bills  of 
exchange  may  prevent  the  displacement  of  the 


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THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


70 


main  mass  of  the  money  collected,  without 
the  aid  of  any  bank;  and  where  these  fail, 
it  cannot  be  prevented  even  with  that  aid. 
Perhaps,  indeed,  bank  bills  may  be  a  more 
convenient  vehicle  than  treasury  orders.  But 
a  little  difference  in  the  degree  of  conve 
niences,  cannot  constitute  the  necessity  which 
the  Constitution  makes  the  ground  for  as 
suming  any  non-enumerated  power. 

Besides ;  the  existing  banks  will,  without  a 
doubt,  enter  into  arrangements  for  lending 
their  agency,  and  the  more  favorable,  as  there 
will  be  a  competition  among  them  for  it; 
whereas  the  bill  delivers  us  up  bound  to  the 
national  bank,  who  are  free  to  refuse  all  ar 
rangement,  but  on  their  own  terms,  and  the 
public  not  free,  on  such  refusal,  to  employ 
any  other  bank.  That  of  Philadelphia,  I  be 
lieve,  now  does  this  business,  by  their  post- 
notes,  which,  by  an  arrangement  with  the 
treasury,  are  paid  by  any  State  collector  to 
whom  they  are  presented.  This  expedient 
alone  suffices  to  prevent  the  existence  of  that 
necessity  which  may  justify  the  assumption 
of  a  non-enumerated  power  as  a  means  for 
carrying  into  effect  an  enumerated  one.  The 
thing  may  be  done,  and  has  been  done,  and 
well  done,  without  this  assumption ;  therefore, 
it  does  not  stand  on  that  degree  of  necessity 
which  can  honestly  justify  it.  It  may  be  said 
that  a  bank  whose  bills  would  have  a  currency 
all  over  the  States,  would  be  more  convenient 
than  one  whose  currency  is  limited  to  a  single 
State.  So  it  would  be  still  more  convenient 
that  there  should  be  a  bank,  whose  bills 
should  have  a  currency  all  over  the  world. 
But  it  does  not  follow  from  this  superior 
conveniency,  that  there  exists  anywhere  a 
power  to  establish  such  a  bank;  or  that  the 
world  may  not  go  on  very  well  without  it. 
Can  it  be  thought  that  the  Constitution  in 
tended  that  for  a  shade  or  two  of  convenience. 
more  or  less,  Congress  should  be  authorized 
to  break  down  the  most  ancient  and  funda 
mental  laws  of  the  several  States;  such  as 
those  against  Mortmain,  the  laws  of  Alienage. 
the  rules  of  Descent,  the  acts  of  Distribu 
tion,  the  laws  of  Escheat  and  Forfeiture,  the 
laws  of  Monopoly?  Nothing  but  a  necessity 
invincible  by  any  other  means,  can  justify 
such  a  prostitution  of  laws,  which  constitute 
the  pillars  of  our  whole  system  of  jurispru 
dence.  Will  Congress  be  too  straight-laced 
to  carry  the  Constitution  into  honest  effect, 
unless  they  may  pass  over  the  foundation 
laws  of  the  State  government  for  the  slightest 
convenience  of  theirs? 

The  negative  of  the  President  is  the  shield 
provided  by  the  Constitution  to  protect 
against  the  invasions  of  the  Legislature:  I. 
The  right  of  the  Executive.  2.  Of  the  Ju 
diciary.  3.  Of  the  States  and  State  Legisla 
tures.  The  present  is  the  case  of  a  right  re 
maining  exclusively  with  the  States,  and  con 
sequently  one  of  those  intended  by  the  Con 
stitution  to  be  placed  under  its  protection. 
It  must  be  added,  however,  that  unless  the 
President's  mind  on  a  view  of  everything 
which  is  urged  for  and  against  this  bill,  is 
tolerably  clear  that  it  is  unauthorized  by  the 
Constitution ;  if  the  pro  and  the  con  hang  so 


even  as  to  balance  his  judgment,  a  just  re 
spect  for  the  wisdom  of  the  Legislature  would 
naturally  decide  the  balance  in  favor  of  their 
opinion.  It  is  chiefly  for  cases  where  they 
are  clearly  misled  by  error,  ambition,  or  in 
terest,  that  the  Constitution  has  placed  a 
check  in  the  negative  of  the  President.— 
NATIONAL  BANK  OPINION,  vii,  555.  FORD 
ED.,  v,  284.  (February  1791.) 

665.  BANK     (IT.     S.),     Directors    of.— 

While  the  Government  remained  at  Philadel 
phia,  a  selection  of  members  of  both  Houses 
were  constantly  kept  as  directors,  who,  on 
every  question  interesting  to  that  institution, 
or  to  the  views  of  the  federal  head,  voted  at 
the  will  of  that  head;  and,  together  with  the 
stockholding  members,  could  always  make 
the  federal  vote  that  of  the  majority.  By 
this  combination,  legislative  expositions  were 
given  to  the  Constitution,  and  all  the  admin 
istrative  laws  were  shaped  on  the  model  of 
England,  and  so  passed.  And  from  this  in 
fluence  we  were  not  relieved,  until  the  re 
moval  from  the  precincts  of  the  Bank,  to 
Washington. — THE  ANAS,  ix,  95.  FORD  ED 
i,  164.  (1818.) 

666.  BANK  (U.  S.),  Dividends  of.— The 

bank  has  just  notified  its  proprietors  that 
they  may  call  for  a  dividend  of  ten  per  cent, 
on  their  capital  for  the  last  six  months.  This 
makes  a  profit  of  twenty-six  per  cent,  per  an 
num.  Agriculture,  commerce,  and  everything 
useful  must  be  neglected,  when  the  useless 
employment  of  money  is  so  much  more 
lucrative. — To  PLUMARD  DE  RIEUX.  FORD 
ED.,  v,  420.  (Pa.,  1792.) 

667.  BANK  (U.  S.),  Fall  in  stock.— The 

failure  of  some  stock  gamblers  and  some 
other  circumstances,  have  brought  the  public 
paper  low.  The  6  per  cents  have  fallen  from 
26  to  21 1-4,  and  bank  paper  stock  from  115 
or  120  to  73  or  74,  within  two  or  three  weeks. 
This  nefarious  business  is  becoming  more 
and  more  the  public  detestation,  and  cannot 
fail,  when  the  knowledge  of  it  shall  be  suffi 
ciently  extended,  to  tumble  its  authors  head 
long  from  their  heights. — To  WILLIAM 
SHORT,  iii,  342.  FORD  ED.,  v,  459.  (Pa., 
March  1792.) 

668.  BANK  (U.  S.),  Hostility  to  U.  S. 
Government. — This  institution  is  one  of  the 
most    deadly    hostility    existing,    against    the 
principles  and  form  of  our  Constitution.  The 
nation  is,  at  this  time,  so  strong  and  united 
in  its  sentiments,  that  it  cannot  be  shaken  at 
this  moment.    But  suppose  a  series  of  unto 
ward  events  should  occur,  sufficient  to  bring 
into   doubt   the   competency   of   a   republican 
government  to  meet  a  crisis  of  great  danger, 
or  to  unhinge  the  confidence  of  the  people  in 
the  public   functionaries:   an   institution   like 
this,  penetrating  by  its  branches  every  part  of 
the    Union,     acting    by    command     and     in 
phalanx,  may,  in  a  critical  moment,  upset  the 
government..     I    deem    no    government    safe 
which  is  under  the  vassalage  of  any  self-con 
stituted    authorities,   or   any   other   authority 
than  that  of  the  nation,  or  its  regular  func- 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bank 


tionaries.  What  an  obstruction  could  not  this 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  with  all  its  branch 
banks,  be  in  time  of  war?  It  might  dictate 
to  us  the  peace  we  should  accept,  or  withdraw 
its  aids.  Ought  we  then  to  give  further 
growth  to  an  institution  so  powerful,  so 
hostile?  That  it  is  so  hostile  we  know:  I, 
from  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  the 
persons  composing  the  body  of  directors  in 
every  bank,  principal  or  branch  ;  and  those  of 
most  of  the  stockholders;  2,  from  their  op 
position  to  the  measures  and  principles  of  the 
government,  and  to  the  election  of  those 
friendly  to  them;  and  3,  from  the  sentiments 
of  the  newspapers  they  support.  Now,  while 
we  are  strong,  it  is  the  greatest  debt  we  owe 
to  the  safety  of  our  Constitution,  to  bring  its 
powerful  enemy  to  a  perfect  subordination 
under  its  authorities.  The  first  measure 
would  be  to  reduce  them  to  an  equal  footing 
only  with  other  banks,  as  to  the  favors  of  the 
government.  But,  in  order  to  be  able  to  meet 
a  general  combination  of  the  banks  against 
us,  in  a  critical  emergency,  could  we  not 
make  a  beginning  towards  an  independent  use 
of  our  own  money,  towards  holding  our  own 
bank  in  all  the  deposits  where  it  is  received, 
and  letting  the  treasurer  give  his  draft  or 
note,  for  payment  at  any  particular  place, 
which,  in  a  well-conducted  government,  ought 
to  have  as  much  credit  as  any  private  draft, 
or  bank  note,  or  bill,  and  would  give  us  the 
same  facilities  which  we  derive  from  •  the 
banks? — To  ALBERT  GALLATIN.  iv,  519.  FORD 
ED.,  viii,  284.  (W.,  Dec.  1803.) 

669.  BANK  (U.S.),  Inflation  projects. 
—The  Bank  is  so  firmly  mounted  on  us  that 
we  must  go  where  they   will    guide.     They 
openly  publish  a  resolution,  that  the  national 
property  being  increased  in  value,  they  must 
by  an  increase  of  circulating  medium  furnish 
an  adequate  representation  of  it,  and  by  fur 
ther  additions  of  active  capital  promote  the 
enterprises  of  our  merchants.    It  is  supposed 
that  the  paper  in  circulation  in  and  around 
Philadelphia,  amounts  to  twenty  millions  of 
dollars,  and  that  in  the  whole  Union,  to  one 
hundred    millions. — To   JAMES    MONROE,    iv, 
140.    FORD  ED.,  vii,  80.     (M.,  June  1796.) 

670.  BANK   (IT.   S.),   Regulation    of.— 

The  Attorney  General  having  considered  and 
decided  that  the  prescription  in  the  law  for 
establishing  a  bank,  that  the  officers  in  the 
subordinate  offices  of  discount  and  deposit, 
shall  be  appointed  "  on  the  same  terms  and 
in  the  same  manner  practiced  in  the  principal 
bank,"  does  not  extend  to  them  the  principle 
of  rotation,  established  by  the  Legislature  in 
the  body  of  directors  in  the  principal  bank, 
it  follows  that  the  extension  of  that  principle 
has  been  merely  a  voluntary  and  prudential 
act  of  the  principal  bank,  from  which  they 
are  free  to  depart.  I  think  the  extension  was 
wise  and  proper  on  their  part,  because  the 
Legislature  having  deemed  rotation  useful  in 
the  principal  bank  constituted  by  them,  there 
would  be  the  same  reason  for  it  in  the  sub 
ordinate  banks  to  be  established  by  the  princi 
pal.  It  breaks  in  upon  the  esprit  de  corps 


so  apt  to  prevail  in  permanent  bodies:  it 
gives  a  chance  for  the  public  eye  penetrating 
into  the  sanctuary  of  those  proceedings  and 
practices,  which  the  avarice  of  the  directors 
may  introduce  for  their  personal  emolument, 
and  which  the  resentments  of  excluded  direct 
ors,  or  the  honesty  of  those  duly  admitted, 
might  betray  to  the  public;  and  it  gives  an 
opportunity  at  the  end  of  the  year,  or  at 
other  periods,  of  correcting  a  choice,  which, 
on  trial,  proves  to  have  been  unfortunate:  an 
evil  of  which  themselves  complain  in  their 
distant  institutions.  Whether,  however,  they 
have  a  power  to  alter  this,  or  not,  the  Execu 
tive  has  no  right  to  decide :  and  their  consul 
tation  with  you  has  been  merely  an  act  of 
complaisance,  or  a  desire  to  shield  so  im 
portant  an  innovation  under  the  cover  of  ex 
ecutive  sanction.  But  ought  we  to  volunteer 
our  sanction  in  such  a  case?  Ought  we  to 
disarm  ourselves  of  any  fair  right  of  ani 
madversion,  whenever  that  institution  shall 
be  a  legitimate  subject  of  consideration?  I 
own,  I  think  the  most  proper  answer  would 
be  that  we  do  not  think  ourselves  authorized 
to  give  an  opinion  on  the  question. — To  AL 
BERT  GALLATIN.  iv,  518.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  284. 
(W.,  1803.) 

671.  BANK  (U.  S.),  Richmond  Branch. 
— It  seems  nearly  settled  with  the  Treasuro- 
bankites  that  a  branch  shall  be  established  at 
Richmond.    Could  not  a  counter-bank  be  set 
up  to  befriend  the  agricultural   man  by  let 
ting  him  have  money  on  a  deposit  of  tobacco 
notes,  or  even  wheat,  for  a  short  time,  and 
would  not  such  a  bank  enlist  the  legislature  in 
its  favor,  and  against  the  Treasury  bank? — 
To  JAMES  MADISON.     FORD  ED.,  vi,  98.     (Pa., 
1792.) 

672.  BANK   (IT.   S.),  Ruin  by.— It  was 
impossible  the  Bank  and  paper  mania  should 
not  produce  great  and  extensive  ruin.     The 
President  is  fortunate  to  get  off  just  as  the 
bubble  is  bursting,  leaving  others  to  hold  the 
bag.     Yet,  as  his  departure  will  mark  the  mo 
ment  when  the  difficulties  begin  to  work,  you 
will  see,  that  they  will  be  ascribed  to  the  new 
administration,    and    that    he    will    have    his 
usual  good  fortune  of  reaping  credit  from  the 
good  acts  of  others,  and  leaving  to  them  that 
of  his  errors. — To  JAMES  MADISON.    FORD  ED., 
vii,  104.      (Jan.    1797.) 

673.  BANK  (IT.   S.),   Saddled    by.— We 

are  completely  saddled  and  bridled,  and  the 
bank  is  so  firmly  mounted  on  us  that  we  must 
go  where  they  will  guide. — To  JAMES  MON 
ROE,  iv,  140.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  80.  (M.,  June 
1796.) 

674.  BANK  (U.  S.),  Subscriptions  to.— 
You  will  have  seen  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  subscriptions  to  the  bank  were  filled.     As 
yet  the  delirium  of  speculation  is  too  strong 
to  admit  sober  reflection.     It  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  in  a  country  whose  capital  is 
too  small  to  carry  on  its  own  commerce,  to 
establish   manufactures,   erect  buildings,   &c., 
such  sums  should  have  been  withdrawn  from 
these  useful  pursuits  to  be  employed  in  gam 
bling?    Whether  it  was  well  judged  to  force 


Bank 
Bankruptcy 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


on  the  public  a  paper  circulation  of  so  many 
millions  for  which  they  will  be  paying  about 
7  per  cent,  per  ann.  and  thereby  banish  as 
many  millions  of  gold  and  silver  for  which 
they  would  have  paid  no  interest?  I  am  afraid 
it  is  the  intention  to  nourish  this  spirit  of 
gambling  by  throwing  in  from  time  to  time 
new  aliment. — To  EDMUND  PENDLETON.  FORD 
ED.,  v,  357.  (Pa.,  1791-) 

675. .  The  subscriptions  to  the 

Bank  from  Virginia  were  almost  none.  *  *  * 
This  gives  so  much  uneasiness  to  Colonel 
Hamilton  that  he  thinks  to  propose  to  the 
President  to  sell  some  of  the  public  shares  to 
subscribers  from  Virginia  and  North  Caro 
lina,  if  any  more  should  offer.  This  partial 
ity  would  offend  the  other  States  without 
pleasing  those  two :  for  I  presume  they  would 
rather  the  capitals  of  their  citizens  should  be 
employed  in  commerce  than  be  locked  up  in 
a  strong  box  here  [Philadelphia]  :  nor  can 
sober  thinkers  prefer  a  paper  medium  at  13 
per  cent,  interest  to  gold  and  silver  for  noth 
ing. — To  JAMES  MADISON.  FORD  ED.,  v,  350. 
(Pa.,  1791.) 

676. .  The  bank  filled  and  over 
flowed  in  the  moment  it  was  opened.  In 
stead  of  twenty  thousand  shares,  twenty-four 
thousand  were  offered,  and  a  great  many  were 
presented,  who  had  not  suspected  that  so 
much  haste  was  necessary.  Thus  it  is  that  we 
shall  be  paying  13  per  cent,  per  ann.  for  eight 
millions  of  paper  money,  instead  of  having 
that  circulation  of  gold  and  silver  for  noth 
ing.  Experience  has  proved  to  us  that  a 
dollar  of  silver  disappears  for  every  dollar  of 
paper  emitted;  and,  for  the  paper  emitted 
from  the  bank,  seven  per  cent,  profits  will  be 
received  by  the  subscribers  for  it  as  bank 
paper  (according  to  the  last  division  of  profits 
by  the  Philadelphia  bank),  and  six  per  cent, 
on  the  public  paper  of  which  it  is  the  repre 
sentative.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  believe, 
that  either  the  six  millions  of  public  paper, 
or  the  two  millions  of  specie  deposited,  will 
not  be  suffered  to  be  withdrawn,  and  the 
paper  thrown  into  circulation.  The  cash  de 
posited  by  strangers  for  safe  keeping  will 
probably  suffice  for  cash  demands. — To  JAMES 
MONROE,  iii,  268.  FORD  ED.,  v,  352.  (Pa.,  1791.) 

677.  BANKRUPTCY,       Agriculture, 
Commerce  and.— I  find  you  are  to  be  har 
assed  again  with  a  bankrupt  law.    Could  you 
not  compromise  between  agriculture  and  com 
merce  by  passing  such  a  law  which  like  the 
by-laws  of  incorporate  towns,  should  be  bind 
ing  on  the   inhabitants  of  such  towns  only, 
being  the  residence  of  commerce,  leaving  the 
agriculturists,   inhabitants  of  the  country,  in 
undisturbed    possession    of    the    rights    and 
modes  of  proceedings  to  which  their  habits, 
their    interests    and    their    partialities    attach 
them?     This  would  be  as  uniform  as  other 
laws  of  local  obligation. — To  JAMES  PLEAS- 
ANTS.    FORD  ED.,  x,  198.    (M.,  1821.) 

678.  BANKRUPTCY,   Agriculturists 
and. — A  bankrupt  bill  is  brought  in  in  such  a 
form  as  to  render  almost  all  the  landholders 
south  of  Pennsylvania  liable  to  be  declared 


bankrupts.  Hitherto  we  had  imagined  that  the 
General  Government  could  not  meddle  with 
the  title  to  lands. — To  T.  M.  RANDOLPH.  FORD 
ED.,  vi,  149.  (Pa.,  1792.) 

679. .       The    bankrupt    bill    is 

brought  on  with  some  very  threatening  fea 
tures  to  landed  and  farming  men,  who  are 
in  danger  of  being  drawn  into  its  vortex.  It 
assumes  the  right  of  seizing  and  selling  lands, 
and  so  cuts  the  knotty  question  of  the  Consti 
tution,  whether  the  General  Government  may 
direct  the  transmission  of  land  by  descent  or 
otherwise. — To  JOHN  FRANCIS  MERCER,  iii, 
495.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  148.  (Pa.,  1792.) 

680.  BANKRUPTCY,  English  Law  of. 
— The  British  statute  excepts  expressly  farm 
ers,  graziers,  drovers,  as  such  though  they 
buy  to  sell  again.  This  bill  has  no  such  ex 
ception.  The  British  adjudications  exempt 
the  buyers  and  sellers  of  bank  stock,  govern 
ment  paper,  &c.  What  feelings  guided  the 
draughtsman  [of  this  bill]  in  adhering  to  his 
original  in  this  case  and  then  departing  from 
it  in  the  other?  The  British  courts  adjudge 
that  any  artists  may  be  bankrupts  if  the  ma 
terials  of  their  art  are  bought,  such  as  shoe 
makers,  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  &c.  Will  the 
body  of  our  artists  desire  to  be  brought  within 
the  vortex  of  this  law?  It  will  follow  as  a 
consequence  that  the  master  who  has  an  artist 
of  this  kind  in  his  family,  whether  hired,  in 
dentured,  or  a  slave,  to  serve  the  purposes  of 
his  farm  or  family,  but  who  may  at  leisure 
time  do  something  for  his  neighbors  also,  may 
be  a  bankrupt.  The  British  law  makes  a  de 
parture  from  the  realm,  i.  e.  out  of  the  media 
tion  of  British  law,  an  act  of  bankruptcy. 
This  bill  makes  a  departure  from  the  State 
wherein  he  resides  (though  into  a  neighbor 
ing  one  where  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
run  equally),  an  act  of  bankruptcy.  The 
commissioners  may  enter  houses,  break  open 
doors,  chests  &c.  Are  we  really  ripe  for 
this?  Is  that  spirit  of  independence  and  sov 
ereignty,  which  a  man  feels  in  his  own  house, 
and  which  Englishmen  felt  when  they  denom 
inated  their  houses  their  castles,  to  be  abso 
lutely  subdued,  and  is  it  expedient  that  it 
should  be  subdued?  The  lands  of  the  bank 
rupt  are  to  be  taken,  sold.  Is  not  this  a  pre 
dominant  question  between  the  General  and 
State  legislatures?  Is  commerce  so  much  the 
basis  of  the  existence  of  the  United  States  as 
to  call  for  a  bankrupt  law?  On  the  contrary, 
are  we  not  almost  agricultural  ?  Should  not  all 
laws  be  made  with  a  view  essentially  to  the 
poor  husbandman?  When  laws  are  wanting 
for  particular  descriptions  of  other  callings, 
should  not  the  husbandman  be  carefully  ex 
cused  from  their  operation,  and  preserved  un 
der  that  of  the  general  system  only,  which 
general  system  is  fitted  to  the  condition  of 
the  husbandman?* — NOTES  ON  THE  BANK 
RUPT  BILL,  ix,  431.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  145.  (Dec. 
1792.) 

*  This  paper  is  without  date.  Jefferson  gave  it  this 
caption:  "Extempore  thoughts  and  doubts  on  very 
superficially  running  over  the  bankrupt  bill."  A 
bankrupt  bill,  introduced  in  the  House  in  December, 
1702,  by  W.  L.  Smith,  is  probably  the  one  referred  to. 
—EDITOR. 


73 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Banks 


681.  BANKS,  Abuses  of.— The  crisis  of 
the  abuses  of  banking  is  arrived.  The  banks 
have  pronounced  their  own  sentence  of  death. 
Between  two  and  three  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  of  their  promissory  notes  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  people,  for  solid  produce  and 
property  sold,  and  they  formally  declare  they 
will  not  pay  them.  This  is  an  act  of  bank 
ruptcy,  of  course,  and  will  be  so  pronounced 
by  any  court  before  which  it  shall  be  brought. 
But  cui  bono?  The  laws  can  only  uncover 
their  insolvency,  by  opening  to  its  suitors 
their  empty  vaults.  Thus  by  the  dupery  of 
our  citizens,  and  tame  acquiescence  of  our 
legislators,  the  nation  is  plundered  of  two  or 
three  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  treble  the 
amount  of  debt  contracted  in  the  Revolution 
ary  war,  and  which,  instead  of  redeeming  our 
liberty,  has  been  expended  on  sumptuous 
houses,  carriages,  and  dinners.  A  fearful 
tax!  if  equalized  on  all;  but  overwhelming 
and  convulsive  by  its  partial  fall. — To 
THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  381.  (M.,  Sep.  1814.) 

682. .      Everything  predicted  by 

the  enemies  of  banks,  in  the  beginning,  is  now 
coming  to  pass.  We  are  to  be  ruined  now  by 
the  deluge  of  bank  paper,  as  we  were  formerly 
by  the  old  Continental  paper.  It  is  cruel  that 
such  revolutions  in  private  fortunes  should 
be  at  the  mercy  of  avaricious  adventurers, 
who,  instead  of  employing  their  capital,  if 
any  they  have,  in  manufactures,  commerce, 
and  other  useful  pursuits,  make  it  an  instru 
ment  to  burthen  all  the  interchanges  of  prop 
erty  with  their  swindling  profits,  profits 
which  are  the  price  of  no  useful  industry  of 
theirs.  Prudent  men  must  be  on  their  guard 
in  this  game  of  Robin's  alive,  and  take  care 
that  the  spark  does  not  extinguish  in  their 
hands.  I  am  an  enemy  to  all  banks  discount 
ing  bills  or  notes  for  anything  but  coin.  But 
our  whole  country  is  so  fascinated  by  this 
Jack-lantern  wealth,  that  they  will  not  stop 
short  of  its  total  and  fatal  explosion.* — To 
DR.  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  295.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

683. .  The  enormous  abuses  of 

the  banking  system  are  not  only  prostrating 
our  commerce,  but  producing  revolution  of 
property,  which  without  more  wisdom  than 
we  possess,  will  be  much  greater  than  were 
produced  by  the  Revolutionary  paper.  That, 
too,  had  the  merit  of  purchasing  our  liberties, 
while  the  present  trash  has  only  furnished 
aliment  to  usurers  and  swindlers. — To  RICH 
ARD  RUSH.  FORD  ED.,  x,  133.  (M.,  June 
1819.) 

684.  BANKS,  Aristocracy.— I  hope  we 
shall  *  *  *  crush  in  its  birth  the  aristoc 
racy  of  our  moneyed  corporations,  which  dare 
already  to  challenge  our  government  to  a  trial 
of  strength,  and  bid  defiance  to  the  laws  of 
our  country. — To  GEORGE  LOGAN.  FORD  ED., 
x,  69.  (P.F.,  Nov.  1816.) 

685. .  The  bank  mania  *  *  * 

is  raising  up  a  moneyed  aristocracy  in  our 
country  which  has  already  set  the  govern 
ment  at  defiance,  and  although  forced  at 

*  This  accordingly  took  place  four  years  later. — 
NOTE,  WASHINGTON  EDITION, 


length  to  yield  a  little  on  this  first  essay 
of  their  strength,  their  principles  are  un- 
yielded  and  unyielding.  These  have  taken 
deep  root  in  the  hearts  of  that  class  from 
which  our  legislators  are  drawn,  and  the  sop 
to  Cerberus  from  fable  has  become  history. 
Their  principles  lay  hold  of  the  good,  their 
pelf  of  the  bad,  and  thus  those  whom  the  Con 
stitution  had  placed  as  guards  to  its  portals, 
are  sophisticated  or  suborned  from  their  du 
ties.— To  DR.  J.  B.  STUART,  vii,  64.  (M., 
1817.) 

686.  BANKS,  Capital  and.— At  the  time 
we  were  funding  our  national  debt,  we  heard 
much  about  "  a  public  debt  being  a  public 
blessing  "  ;  that  the  stock  representing  it  was 
a  creation  of  active  capital  for  the  aliment  of 
commerce,  manufactures  and  agriculture. 
This  paradox  was  well  adapted  to  the  minds  of 
believers  in  dreams,  and  the  gulls  of  that  size 
entered  bond  fide  into  it.  But  the  art  and  mys 
tery  of  banks  is  a  wonderful  improvement  on 
that.  It  is  established  on  the  principle  that 
"  private  debts  are  a  public  blessing."  That 
the  evidences  of  those  private  debts,  called 
bank  notes,  become  active  capital,  and  aliment 
the  whole  commerce,  manufactures,  and  agri 
culture  of  the  United  States.  Here  are  a  set 
of  people,  for  instance,  who  have  bestowed  on 
us  the  great  blessing  of  running  in  our  debt 
about  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  with 
out  our  knowing  who  they  are,  where  they 
are,  or  what  property  they  have  to  pay  this 
debt  when  called  on ;  nay,  who  have  made  us 
so  sensible  of  the  blessings  of  letting  them 
run  in  our  debt,  that  we  have  exempted  them 
by  law  from  the  repayment  of  these  debts  be 
yond  a  given  proportion  (generally  estimated 
at  one-third).  And  to  fill  up  the  measure  of 
blessing,  instead  of  paying,  they  receive  an 
interest  on  what  they  owe  from  those  to 
whom  they  owe;  for  all  the  notes,  or  evi 
dences  of  what  they  owe,  which  we  see  In 
circulation,  have  been  lent  to  somebody  on 
an  interest  which  is  levied  again  on  us 
through  the  medium  of  commerce.  And  they 
are  so  ready  still  to  deal  out  their  liberalities 
to  us,  that  they  are  now  willing  to  let  them 
selves  run  in  our  debt  ninety  millions  more, 
on  our  paying  them  the  same  premium  of  six 
or  eight  per  cent,  interest,  and  on  the  same 
legal  exemption  from  the  repayment  of  more 
than  thirty  millions  of  the  debt,  when  it  shall 
be  called  for.  But  let  us  look  at  this  principle 
in  its  original  form,  and  its  copy  will  then  be 
equally  understood.  "A  public  debt  is  a  pub 
lic  blessing."  That  our  debt  was  juggled 
from  forty-three  up  to  eighty  millions,  and 
funded  at  that  amount,  according  to  this  opin 
ion  was  a  great  public  blessing,  because  the 
evidences  of  it  could  be  vested  in  commerce, 
and  thus  converted  into  active  capital,  and 
then  the  more  the  debt  was  made  to  be,  the 
more  active  capital  was  created.  That  is  to 
say,  the  creditors  could  now  employ  in  com 
merce  the  money  due  them  from  the  public, 
and  make  from  it  an  annual  profit  of  five  per 
cent.,  or  four  millions  of  dollars.  But  ob 
serve,  that  the  public  were  at  the  same  time 
paying  on  it  an  interest  of  exactly  the  same 


Banks 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


74 


amount  of  four  millions  of  dollars.  Where, 
then,  is  the  gain  to  either  party,  which  makes 
it  a  public  blessing?  There  is  no  change  in 
the  state  of  things,  but  of  persons  only.  A 
has  a  debt  due  to  him  from  the  public,  of 
which  he  holds  their  certificate  as  evidence, 
and  on  which  he  is  receiving  an  annual  inter 
est.  He  wishes,  however,  to  have  the  money 
itself,  and  to  go  into  business  with  it.  B  has 
an  equal  sum  of  money  in  business,  but  wishes 
now  to  retire,  and  live  on  the  interest.  He 
therefore  gives  it  to  A  in  exchange  for  A's 
certificates  of  public  stock.  Now,  then,  A  has 
the  money  to  employ  in  business,  which  B  so 
employed  before.  B  has  the  money  on  inter 
est  to  live  on,  which  A  lived  on  before ;  and 
the  public  pays  the  interest  to  B  which  they 
paid  to  A  before.  Here  is  no  new  creation  of 
capital,  no  additional  money  employed,  nor 
even  a  change  in  the  employment  of  a  single 
dollar.  The  only  change  is  of  place  between 
A  and  B  in  which  we  discover  no  creation  of 
capital,  nor  public  blessing.  Suppose,  again, 
the  public  to  owe  nothing.  Then  A  not  hav 
ing  lent  his  money  to  the  public,  would  be  in 
possession  of  it  himself,  and  would  go  into 
business  without  the  previous  operation  of 
selling  stock.  Here  again,  the  same  quantity 
of  capital  is  employed  as  in  the  former  case, 
though  no  public  debt  exists.  In  neither  case 
is  there  any  creation  of  active  capital,  nor 
other  difference  than  that  there  is  a  public 
debt  in  the  first  case,  and  none  in  the  last; 
and  we  safely  ask  which  of  the  two  situa 
tions  is  most  truly  a  public  blessing?  If, 
then,  a  public  debt  be  no  public  blessing,  we 
may  pronounce,  a  fortiori,  that  a  private  one 
cannot  be  so.  If  the  debt  which  the  bank 
ing  companies  owe  be  a  blessing  to  anybody, 
it  is  to  themselves  alone,  who  are  realizing  a 
solid  interest  of  eight  or  ten  per  cent,  on  it. 
As  to  the  public,  these  companies  have  ban 
ished  all  our  gold  and  silver  medium,  which, 
before  their  institution,  we  had  without  in 
terest,  which  never  could  have  perished  in 
our  hands,  and  would  have  been  our  salvation 
now  in  the  hour  of  war ;  instead  of  which 
they  have  given  us  two  hundred  millions  of 
froth  and  bubble,  on  which  we  are  to  pay 
them  heavy  interest,  until  it  shall  vanish  into 
air,  as  Morris's  notes  did.  We  are  warranted, 
then,  in  affirming  that  this  parody  on  the  prin 
ciple  of  "  a  public  debt  being  a  public  bless 
ing,"  and  its  mutation  into  the  blessing  of 
private  instead  of  public  debts,  is  as  ridicu 
lous  as  the  original  principle  itself. — To  J.  W. 
EPPES.  vi,  239.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  411.  (M.,  Nov. 
1813.) 

687.  .     Capital  may  be  produced 

by  industry,   and   accumulated  by  economy; 
but  jugglers  only  will  propose  to  create  it  by 
legerdemain    tricks    with    paper. — To    J.    W. 
EPPES.    vi,  241.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  413.    (M.,  Nov. 
1813.) 

688.  BANKS,  Criticism    of.— I    am    too 
desirous  of  tranquillity  to  bring  such  a  nest  of 
hornets  on  me  as  the  fraternity  of  banking 
companies. — To  JOSEPH  C.   CABELL.     vi,  300. 
(M.,  1814.) 


689.  BANKS,    Dangerous. — Banking    es 
tablishments  are  more  dangerous  than  stand 
ing  armies. — To  JOHN  TAYLOR,    vi,  608.    FORD 
ED.,  x,  31.     (M.,  1816.) 

690.  BANKS,     Deposit.— Banks    of    de 
posit,  where  cash  should  be  lodged,  and  a  pa 
per  acknowledgment  taken  out  as  its  repre 
sentative,  entitled  to  a  return  of  the  cash  on 
demand,  would  be  convenient  for  remittances, 
traveling  persons,  &c.     But,  liable  as  its  cash 
would  be  to  be  pilfered  and  robbed,  and  its 
paper  to  be  fraudulently  reissued,  or  issued 
without  deposit,  it  would  require  skilful  and 
strict  regulation.     This  would  differ  from  the 
bank  of  Amsterdam,  in  the  circumstance  that 
the  cash  could  be  redeemed  on  returning  the 
note. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.   vi,  247.    FORD  ED.,  ix, 
417.     (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

691.  BANKS,    Depreciated   Paper   of.— 

Everything  predicted  by  the  enemies  of  banks, 
in  the  beginning,  is  now  coming  to  pass.  We 
are  to  be  ruined  now  by  the  deluge  of  bank 
paper,  as  we  were  formerly  by  the  old  Con 
tinental  paper.  It  is  cruel  that  such  revolu 
tions  in  private  fortunes  should  be  at  the 
mercy  of  avaricious  adventurers,  who,  instead 
of  employing  their  capital,  if  they  have  any,  in 
manufactures,  commerce,  and  other  useful 
pursuits,  make  it  an  instrument  to  burden  all 
the  interchanges  of  property  with  their  swind 
ling  profits,  profits  which  are  the  price  of  no 
useful  industry  of  theirs.  Prudent  men  must 
be  on  their  guard  in  this  game  of  Robin's 
alive,  and  take  care  that  the  spark  does  not 
extinguish  in  their  hands.  I  am  an  enemy 
to  all  banks  discounting  bills  or  notes  for 
anything  but  coin.  But  our  whole  country  is 
so  fascinated  by  this  Jack-lantern  wealth,  that 
they  will  not  stop  short  of  its  total  and  fatal 
explosion. — To  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  295. 
(M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

692. .    Already  there  is  so  much 


of  their  trash  afloat  that  the  great  holders  of 
it  show  vast  anxiety  to  get  rid  of  it.  They 
perceive  that  now,  as  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  we  are  engaged  in  the  old  game  of  Rob 
in's  alive.  They  are  ravenous  after  lands  and 
stick  at  no  price.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
Richmond,  the  seat  of  that  sort  of  sensibility, 
they  offer  twice  as  much  now  as  they  would 
give  a  year  ago. — To  PRESIDENT  MADISON. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  453.  (M.,  Feb.  1814.) 

693. .  The  depreciation  of  bank 

paper  swells  nominal  prices,  without  furnish 
ing  any  stable  index  of  value.  I  will  endeavor 
briefly  to  give  you  an  idea  of  this  state  of 
things  by  an  outline  of  its  history. 

In  1781  we  had  I  bank,  its  capital  $1,000,000. 

In  1791  we  had  6  banks,  their  capital  $13,- 
135,000. 

In  1794  we  had  17  banks,  their  capital  $18,- 
642,000. 

In  1796  we  had  24  banks,  their  capital  $20,- 
472,000. 

In  1803  we  had  34  banks,  their  capital  $29,- 
112,000. 

In  1804  we  had  66  banks,  their  amount  of 
capital  not  known. 


75 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Banks 


And  at  this  time  we  have  probably  one 
hundred  banks,  with  capital  amounting  to 
one  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  on  which 
they  are  authorized  by  law  to  issue  notes  to 
three  times  that  amount,  so  that  our  circulating 
medium  may  now  be  estimated  at  from  two 
to  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  on  a 
population  of  eight  and  a  half  millions.  The 
banks  were  able  for  awhile,  to  keep  this  trash 
at  par  with  metallic  money,  or  rather  to  de 
preciate  the  metals  to  a  par  with  their  paper, 
by  keeping  deposits  of  cash  sufficient  to  ex 
change  for  such  of  their  notes  as  they  were 
called  on  to  pay  in  cash.  But  the  circum 
stances  of  the  war  draining  away  all  our 
specie,  all  these  banks  have  stopped  payment, 
but  with  a  promise  to  resume  specie  ex 
changes  whenever  circumstances  shall  produce 
a  return  of  the  metals.  Some  of  the  most 
prudent  and  honest  will  possibly  do  this ;  but 
the  mass  of  them  never  will  nor  can.  Yet, 
having  no  other  medium,  we  take  their  pa 
per,  of  necessity,  for  purposes  of  the  instant, 
but  never  to  lay  by  us.  The  government  is 
now  issuing  treasury  notes  for  circulation, 
bottomed  on  solid  funds,  and  bearing  interest. 
The  banking  confederacy  (and  the  merchants 
bound  to  them  by  their  debts)  will  endeavor 
to  crush  the  credit  of  these  notes ;  but  the 
country  is  eager  for  them,  as  something  they 
can  trust  to,  and  so  soon  as  a  convenient 
quantity  of  them  can  get  into  circulation,  the 
bank  notes  die. — To  JEAN  BAPTISTE  SAY. 
vi,  434.  (M.,  March  1815.) 

694.  BANKS,  Difficulties  caused  by.— 
For  the  emolument  of  a  small  proportion  of 
our   society,   who  prefer  those   demoralizing 
pursuits    [banking  and  commerce]    to  labors 
useful  to  the  whole,  the  peace  of  the  whole 
is   endangered,   and  all   our  present  difficul 
ties  produced. — To  ABBE  SALIMANKIS.  v,  516. 
(M.,  1810.) 

695.   .     The   fatal   possession   of 

the  whole  circulating  medium  by  our  banks, 
the    excess    of   those    institutions,    and    their 
present  discredit,  cause  all  our  difficulties. — 
To  W.  H.  CRAWFORD,    vi,  419.     FORD  ED.,  ix, 
503.    (M.,  Feb.  1815.) 

696.  BANKS,    Dominion    of.— -The    do 
minion  of  the  banks  must  be  broken,   or   it 
will  break  us. — To  JAMES  MONROE,     vi,  409. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  498.     (M.,  Jan.  1815.) 

697.  BANKS,  Dropsical.— I  wish  I  could 
see  Congress  get  into  a  better  train  of  finance. 
Their  banking  projects  are  like  dosing  dropsy 
with   more   water.  *     *    *  Their   new   bank, 
if   not    abortive    at    its    birth,    will    not    last 
through  one  campaign;   and  the  taxes  pro 
posed  cannot  be  paid. — To  WILLIAM  SHORT. 
vi,  400.    (M.,  Nov.  1814.) 

698.  BANKS,   Evils   of.— The   evils   they 
[the  banks]   have  engendered  are  now  upon 
us,  and  the  question  is  how  we  are  to  get  out 
of  them?     Shall  we  build  an  altar  to  the  old 
paper  money  of  the  Revolution,  which  ruined 
individuals  but  saved  the  republic,  and  burn 
on  that  all  the  bank  charters,  present  and  fu 
ture,  and  their  notes  with  them?     For  these 


are  to  ruin  both  republic  and  individuals. 
This  cannot  be  done.  The  mania  is  too 
strong.  It  has  seized  by  its  delusions  and 
corruptions,  all  the  members  of  pur  govern 
ments,  general,  special  and  individual. — To 
JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  305.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

699.  -  — .    I  think  it  impossible  but 

that  the  whole  system  must  blow  up  before 
the  year  is  out ;  and  thus  a  tax  of  three  or 
four  hundred  millions  will  be  levied  on  our 
citizens  who  had  found  it  a  work  of  so  much 
time  and  labor  to  pay  off  a  debt  of  eighty 
millions  which  had  redeemed  them  from  bond 
age.— To  PRESIDENT  MADISON.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
453-  (M.,  Feb.  1814.) 

— .  I  see  that  this  infatuation 
of  banks  must  take  its  course,  until  actual  ruin 
shall  awaken  us  from  its  delusions.  Until  the 
gigantic  banking  propositions  of  this  winter 
had  made  their  appearance  in  the  different 
Legislatures,  I  had  hoped  that  the  evil  might 
still  be  checked;  but  I  see  now  that  it  is  des 
perate,  and  that  we  must  fold  our  arms  and 
go  to  the  bottom  with  the  ship. — To  JOSEPH 
C  CABELL.  vi,  300.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

701.  -  _.     The  evils  of  this  deluge 
of  paper  money  are  not  to  be  removed  until 
our  citizens  are  generally  and   radically  in 
structed  in  their  cause  and  consequences,  and 
silence  by  their  authority  the  interested  clam 
ors    and    sophistry    of    speculating,    shaving, 
and  banking  institutions.     Till  then  we  must 
be  content  to  return,  quoad  hoc,  to  the  savage 
state,  to  recur  to  barter  in  the  exchange  of 
our  property,  for  want  of  a  stable,  common 
measure  of  value,  that  now  in  use  being  less 
fixed  than  the  beads  and  wampum  of  the  In 
dian,   and   to   deliver   up   our   citizens,   their 
property  and  their  labor,   passive  victims  to 
the  swindling  tricks  of  bankers  and  mounte- 
bankers. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,     vii,    115.     (M. 
1819.) 

702.  BANKS,  Excess  of.— That    we    are 
overdone    with    banking    institutions,    which 
have  banished  the  precious  metals,  and  sub 
stituted  a   more  fluctuating  and   unsafe   me 
dium,  that  these  have  withdrawn  capital  from 
useful    improvements    and    employments    to 
nourish    idleness      *     *     *      are    evils    more 
easily    to    be    deplored    than    remedied. — To 
ABBE  SALIMANKIS.     v,  516.     (M.,  1810.) 

703.  -  — .A   parcel    of    mushroom 
banks  have  set  up  in  every  State,  have  filled 
the  country  with  their  notes,  and  have  thereby 
banished  all  our  specie.     A  twelvemonth  ago 
they  all  declared  they  could  not  pay  cash  for 
their  own  notes,  and  notwithstanding  this  act 
of  bankruptcy,  this  trash  has  of  necessity  been 
passing  among  us,  because  we  have  no  other 
medium  of  exchange,  and  is  still  taken  and 
passed  from  hand  to  hand,  as  you  remember 
the  old  Continental  money  to  have  been  in 
the  Revolutionary  war;  every  one  getting  rid 
of  it  as  quickly  as  he  can,  by  laying  it  out  in 
property  of   any    sort   at   double,    treble   and 
manifold  higher  prices.     *     *     *     A  general 
crush  is  daily  expected  when  this  trash  will 
be  lost  in  the  hands  of  the  holders.    This  will 
take  place  the  moment  some  specie   returns 


Banks 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


76 


among  us,  or  so  soon  as  the  government  will 
issue  bills  of  circulation.  The  little  they  have 
issued  is  greatly  sought  after,  and  a  premium 
given  for  them  which  is  rising  fast. — To 
PHILLIP  MAZZEI.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  524.  (M., 
Aug.  1815.) 

704.  BANKS,  Failures  of.— The  failure 
of  our  banks  will  occasion  embarrassment  for 
awhile,  although  it  restores  to  us  a  fund 
which  ought  never  to  have  been  surrendered 
by  the  nation,  and  which  now,  prudently  used, 
will  carry  us  through  all  the  fiscal  difficulties 
of  the  war. — To  PRESIDENT  MADISON,  vi,  386. 
(M.,  Sep.  1814.) 

705. .  The  banks  have  discon 
tinued  themselves.  We  are  now  without  any 
medium ;  and  necessity,  as  well  as  patriotism, 
and  confidence,  will  make  us  all  eager  to  re 
ceive  treasury  notes,  if  founded  on  specific 
taxes.  Congress  may  now  borrow  of  the  pub 
lic,  and  without  interest,  all  the  money  they 
may  want,  to  the  amount  of  a  competent  cir 
culation,  by  merely  issuing  their  own  promis 
sory  notes,  of  proper  denominations  for  the 
larger  purposes  of  circulation,  but  not  for  the 
small.  Leave  that  door  open  for  the  entrance 
of  metallic  money. — To  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi, 
382.  (M.,  Sep.  1814.) 

706. .  Providence  seems,  in 
deed,  by  a  special  dispensation,  to  have  put 
down  for  us,  without  a  struggle,  that  very 
paper  enemy  which  the  interest  of  our  citi 
zens  long  since  required  ourselves  to  put 
down,  at  whatever  risk.  The  work  is  done. 
The  moment  is  pregnant  with  futurity,  and 
if  not  seized  at  once  by  Congress,  I  know  not 
on  what  shoal  our  bark  is  next  to  be  stranded. 
— To  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  382.  (M.,  Sep. 
1814.) 

707.    -  _.     The   crush    will    be   tre 

mendous  ;  very  different  from  that  brought 
on  by  our  paper  money.  That  rose  and  fell 
so  gradually  that  it  kept  all  on  their  guard, 
and  affected  severely  only  early  or  long- 
winded  contracts.  Here  the  contract  of  yester 
day  crushes  in  an  instant  the  one  or  the  other 
party.  The  banks  stopping  payment  suddenly, 
all  their  mercantile  and  city  debtors  do  the 
same;  and  all,  in  short,  except  those  in  the 
country,  who,  possessing  property,  will  be 
good  in  the  end.  But  this  resource  will  not 
enable  them  to  pay  a  cent  on  the  dollar. — 
To  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  381.  (M.,  Sep.  1814.) 

708. .    The  paper  interest  is  now 

defunct.  Their  gossamer  castles  are  dis 
solved,  and  they  can  no  longer  impede  and 
overawe  the  salutary  measures  of  the  govern 
ment.  Their  paper  was  received  on  a  belief 
that  it  was  cash  on  demand.  Themselves 
have  declared  it  was  nothing,  and  such 
scenes  are  now  to  take  place  as  will  open  the 
eyes  of  credulity  and  of  insanity  itself  to  the 
dangers  of  a  paper  medium,  abandoned'  to 
the  discretion  of  avarice  and  of  swindlers.  It 
is  impossible  not  to  deplore  our  past  follies, 
and  their  present  consequences,  but  let  them 
at  least  be  warnings  against  like  follies  in 
future. — To  THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  382.  (M., 
Sep.  1814.) 


709.  BANKS,    Fictitious    Capital.— The 
banks  themselves  were  doing  business  on  cap 
itals,   three-fourths  of  which  were  fictitious; 
and  to  extend  their  profit  they  furnished  ficti 
tious  capital  to  every  man,  who  having  noth 
ing    and    disliking   the    labors    of    the    plow, 
chose  rather  to  call  himself  a  merchant,  to 
set  up  a  house  of  $5,000  a  year  expense,  to 
dash   into   every   species   of  mercantile  gam 
bling,   and   if  that   ended   as   gambling   gen 
erally  does,  a  fraudulent  bankruptcy  was  an 
ultimate   resource  of  retirement  and  compe 
tence.    This  fictitious  capital,  probably  of  one 
hundred  millions  of  dollars,  is  now  to  be  lost, 
and  to  fall  on  somebody ;  it  must  take  on  those 
who  have  property  to  meet  it,  and  probably 
on  the  less  cautious  part,  who,  not  aware  of 
the     impending     catastrophe     have     suffered 
themselves  to  contract,  or  to  be  in  debt,  and 
must  now  sacrifice  their  property  of  a  value 
many  times  the  amount  of  their  debt.     We 
have   been   truly   sowing   the   wind,    and   are 
now  reaping  the  whirlwind.     If  the  present 
crisis  should  end  in  the  annihilation  of  these 
pennyless  and  ephemeral  interlopers  only,  and 
reduce  our  commerce  to  the  measure  of  dur 
own  wants   and   surplus   productions,   it  will 
be  a  benefit  in  the  end.   But  how  to  effect  this, 
and  give  time  to  real  capital,  and  the  holders 
of  real  property,  to  back  out  of  their  entan 
glements  by  degrees  requires  more  knowledge 
of  political  economy  than  we  possess.     I  be 
lieve  it  might  be  done,  but  I  despair  of  its 
being  done.     The  eyes  of  our  citizens  are  not 
sufficiently  open  to  the  true  cause  of  our  dis 
tress.     They  ascribe  them  to  everything  but 
their  true  cause,  the  banking  system ;  a  sys 
tem,  which,  if  it  could  do  good  in  any  form, 
is  yet  so  certain  of  leading  to  abuse,  as  to  be 
utterly    incompatible    with    the   public    safety 
and  prosperity.     At  present,  all  is  confusion, 
uncertainty  and  panic. — To  RICHARD  RUSH. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  133.     (M.,  June  1819.) 

710.  BANKS,      Government      Deposits 
and. — The  application  of  the  Bank  of  Balti 
more  is  of  great  importance.     The  considera 
tion  is  very  weighty  that  it  is  held  by  citizens, 
while  the  stock  of  the  United  States  bank  is 
held  in  so  great  a  proportion  by  foreigners. 
Were  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  to  swal 
low  up  the  others  and  monopolize  the  whole 
banking  business  of  the  United  States,  which 
the    demands    we    furnish    them    with    tend 
shortly  to  favor,  we  might,  on  a  misunder 
standing  with  a  foreign  power,  be  immensely 
embarrassed  by  any  disaffection  in  that  bank. 
It  is  certainly  for  the  public  good  to  keep  all 
the  banks  competitors  for  our  favors  by  a  ju 
dicious  distribution  of  them,  and  thus  to  en 
gage  the  individuals  who  belong  to  them  in 
the  support  of  the  reformed  order  of  things, 
or  at   least  in   an   acquiescence  under   it.     I 
suppose  that,  on  the  condition  of  participating 
in  the  deposits,  the  banks  would  be  willing  to 
make    such   communications    of   their   opera 
tions  and  the  state  of  their  affairs  as  might 
satisfy  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  their 
stability.   It  is  recommended  to  Mr.  Gallatin 
to  leave  such  an  opening  in  his  answer  to  this 
letter,  as  to  leave  us  free  to  do  hereafter  what 


77 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Banks 


shall  be  advisable  on  a  broad  view  of  all  the 
banks  in  the  different  parts  of  the  Union. — To 
ALBERT  GALLATIN.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  172.  (Oct 
1802.) 

711. .    As  to  the  patronage  of 

the  Republican  Bank  at  Providence,  I  am  de 
cidedly  in  favor  of  making  all  the  banks  re 
publican,  by  sharing  deposits  with  them  in 
proportion  to  the  dispositions  they  show.  If 
the  law  now  forbids  it,  we  should  not  permit 
another  session  of  Congress  to  pass  without 
amending  it.  It  is  material  to  the  safety  of 
republicanism  to  detach  the  mercantile  in 
terest  from  its  enemies  and  incorporate  them 
into  the  body  of  its  friends. — To  ALBERT  GAL- 
LATIN.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  252.  (July  1803.) 

712.  BANKS,    Jefferson's    disapproba 
tion  of  Paper. — My  original  disapprobation 
of  banks  circulating  paper   is  not  unknown, 
nor  have  I  since  observed  any  effects  either  on 
the  morals  or  fortunes  of  our  citizens,  which 
are  any  counter  balance  for  the  public  evils 
produced. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.     vi,  203.     FORD 
ED.,  ix,  402.     (P.F.,    Sep.  1813.) 

713.  -  _.     The  toleration  of  banks 
of  paper-discount  costs  the  United  States  one 
half    their    war    taxes;    or,    in    other    words, 
doubles  the  expense  of  every  war. — To  J.  W. 
EPPES.     vi,  201.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  400.       (P.F., 
Sep.  1813.) 

714.  .    From    the    establishment 

of  the  United  States  Bank  to  this  day,  I  have 
preached  against  this  system,  and  have  been 
sensible  no  cure  could  be  hoped,  but  in  the 
catastrophe     now     happening. — To    THOMAS 
COOPER,    vi,  381.     (M.,  1814.) 

715. .  I  have  ever  been  the  en 
emy  of  banks,  not  of  those  discounting  for 
cash,  but  of  those  foisting  their  own  paper 
into  circulation,  and  thus  banishing  our  cash. 
My  zeal  against  those  institutions  was  so 
warm  and  open  at  the  establishment  of  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  that  I  was  derided 
as  a  maniac  by  the  tribe  of  bank-mongers, 
who  were  seeking  to  filch  from  the  public 
their  swindling  and  barren  gains. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  vi,  305.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

716.    .    I    am    an    enemy    to    all 

banks  discounting  bills  or  notes  for  anything 
but  coin. — To  DR.  THOMAS  COOPER,    vi,  295. 
(M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

717.   .    The    system   of   banking 

we  have  both   equally  and  ever   reprobated. 
I  contemplate  it  as  a  blot  left  in  all  our  con 
stitutions,  which,  if  not  covered,  will  end  in 
their  destruction,  which  is  already  hit  by  the 
gamblers  in  corruption,  and  is  sweeping  away 
in  its  progress  the  fortunes  and  morals  of  our 
citizens. — To  JOHN  TAYLOR,     vi,  605.     FORD 
ED.,  x,  28.     (M.,  May  1816.) 

718.   .    I   do   not   know    whether 

you  may  recollect  how  loudly  my  voice  was 
raised  against  the  establishment  of  banks  in 
the  beginning ;  but  like  that  of  Cassandra  it 
was  not  listened  to.     I  was  set  down  as  a 
madman  by  those  who  have  since  been  vic 
tims  to  them.    I  little  thought  then  how  much 


I  was  to  suffer  by  them  myself;  for  I,  too,  am 
taken  in  by  endorsements  for  a  friend  to  the 
amount  of  $20,000,  for  the  payment  of  which 
I  shall  have  to  make  sale  of  that  much  of  my 
property.  And  yet  the  general  revolution  of 
fortunes,  which  these  instruments  have  pro 
duced,  seems  not  at  all  to  have  cured  our 
country  of  this  mania. — To  THOMAS  LEIPER. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  254.  (May  1823.) 

719.  BANKS,  Mania  for.— We  are  un 
done  if  this  banking  mania  be  not  suppressed. 
Aut  Carthago,  out  Roma  delcnda  cst. — To 
ALBERT  GALLATIN.  vi,  498.  (M.,  Oct.  1815.) 

720. .     The  mania    *    *    *     has 

seized,  by  its  delusions  and  corruptions,  all 
the  members  of  our  governments,  general, 
special,  and  individual. — To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
vi,  306.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

721. .    Knowing    well    that    the 

Bank  mania  still  possessed  the  great  body  of 
our  countrymen,  it  was  not  expected  that  any 
radical  cure  of  that  could  be  at  once  effected. 
We  must  go  further  wrong,  probably  to  a  ne 
plus  ultra  before  we  shall  be  forced  into  what 
is  right.     Something  will  be  obtained  how 
ever,  if  we  can  excite,  in  those  who  think, 
doubt  first,  reflection  next,  and  conviction  at 
last. — To  JOSEPH   C.   CABELL.     FORD  ED.,  ix, 
499-     (M.,  1815.) 

722.  -  — .     Like     a    dropsical     man 
calling  out  for  water,  water,  our  deluded  cit 
izens   are   clamoring   for   more   banks,   more 
banks.     The  American  mind  is  now  in  that 
state  of  fever  which  the  world  has  so  often 
seen  in  the  history  of  other  nations.    We  are 
under  the  bank  bubble,  as  England  was  under 
the  South  Sea  bubble,  France  under  the  Mis 
sissippi  bubble,  and  as  every  nation  is  liable  to 
be,  under  whatever  bubble,  design  or  delusion 
may  puff  up  in  moments  when  off  their  guard. 
—To  CHARLES  YANCEY.     vi,  515.     FORD  ED., 
x,  2.     (M.,  Jan.  1816.) 

723.  -  — .    This  infatuation  of  banks 
is  a  torrent  which  it  would  be  a  folly  for  me 
to  get  in  the  way  of.    I  see    that  it  must  take 
its  course,  until  actual  ruin  shall  awaken  us 
from  its  delusions. — To  JOSEPH   C.   CABELL. 
vi,  300.     (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

724.  BANKS,  Monopoly.— The  monopoly 
of  a  single  bank  is  certainly  an  evil.     The 
multiplication  of  them  was  intended  to  cure 
it ;  but  it  multiplied  an  influence  of  the  same 
character  with  the  first,  and  completed  the 
supplanting  of  the  precious  metals  by  a  paper 
circulation.    Between  such  parties  the  less  we 
meddle    the    better.— To    ALBERT    GALLATIN. 
iv,  446.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  158.     (W.,  1802.) 

725.  BANKS,   Paper.— Interdict    forever, 
to  both  the  State  and  National  governments 
the  power  of  establishing  any  paper  bank;  for 
without   this   interdiction   we   shall   have  the 
same  ebbs  and  flows  of  medium,  and  the  same 
revolutions  of  property  to  go  through  every 
twenty  or  thirty  years. — To  W.  C.  RIVES,  vii, 
147.    FORD  ED.,  x,  151.     (M.,  1819.) 

726.  BANKS,  Power  to  establish.— The 
States  should  be  applied  to,  to  transfer  the 


Banks 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


78 


right  of  issuing  circulating  paper  to  Congress 
exclusively,  in  perpetuum,  if  possible,  but  dur 
ing  the  war  at  least,  with  a  saving  of  charter 
rights. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.  vi,  140.  FORD  ED., 
ix,  393.  (M.,  June  1813.) 

727.  -  — .      The    States    should    be 

urged  to  concede  to  the  General  Government, 
with  a  saving  of  chartered  rights,  the  exclu 
sive  power  of  establishing  banks  of  discount 
for  paper. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.  vi,  427.  FORD 
ED.,  ix,  417.  (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

728. .    I    still    believe     that     on 

proper  representations  of  the  subject,  a  great 
proportion  of  the  Legislatures  would  cede  to 
Congress  their  power  of  establishing  banks, 
saving  the  charter  rights  already  granted. 
And  this  should  be  asked,  not  by  way  of 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  because  until 
three-fourths  should  consent,  nothing  could 
be  done ;  but  accepted  from  them  one  by  one, 
singly,  as  their  consent  might  be  obtained. 
Any  single  State,  even  if  no  other  should 
come  into  the  measure,  would  find  its  interest 
in  arresting  foreign  bank  paper  immediately, 
and  its  own  by  degrees.  Specie  would  flow 
in  on  them  as  paper  disappeared.  Their  own 
banks  would  call  in  and  pay  off  their  notes 
gradually,  and  their  constituents  would  thus 
be  saved  from  the  general  wreck.  Should  the 
greater  part  of  the  States  concede,  as  is  ex 
pected,  their  power  over  banks  to  Congress, 
besides  insuring  their  own  safety,  the  paper  of 
the  non-conceding  States  might  be  so  checked 
and  circumscribed,  by  prohibiting  its  receipt 
in  any  of  the  conceding  States,  and  even  in 
the  non-conceding  as  to  duties,  taxes,  judg 
ments,  or  other  demands  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  the  citizens  of  other  States,  that 
it  would  soon  die  of  itself,  and  the  me 
dium  of  gold  and  silver  be  universally  re 
stored.  This  is  what  ought  to  be  done.  But 
it  will  not  be  done.  Carthago  non  delibi- 
tur.  The  overbearing  clamor  of  merchants, 
speculators,  and  projectors,  will  drive  us  be 
fore  them  with  our  eyes  open,  until,  as  in 
France,  under  the  Mississippi  bubble,  our  cit 
izens  will  be  overtaken  by  the  crash  of  this 
baseless  fabric,  without  other  satisfaction  than 
that  of  execrations  on  the  heads  of  those  func 
tionaries,  who,  from  ignorance,  pusillanimity 
or  corruption,  have  betrayed  the  fruits  of 
their  industry  into  the  hands  of  projectors 
and  swindlers. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.  vi,  245. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  415.  (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

729.  -  — .     The      State      Legislature 
should  be  immediately  urged  to  relinquish  the 
right  of  establishing  banks  of  discount.    Most 
of  them  will  comply,  on  patriotic  principles, 
under  the  convictions  of  the  moment  and  the 
non-complying  may  be  crowded  into  concur 
rence    by    legitimate    devices. — To   THOMAS 
COOPER,    vi,  382.     (M.,  Sep.  1814.) 

730.   .     I   do  not   remember   the 

conversation  between  us  which  you  mention 
*     *     *    on  your  proposition  to  vest  in  Con 
gress    the    exclusive    power    of    establishing 
banks.     My  opposition  to  it  must  have  been 

§  rounded,  not  on  taking  the  power  from  the 
tafes,  but  on  leaving  any  vestige  of  it  in  ex 


istence,  even  in  the  hands  of  Congress,  be 
cause  it  would  only  have  been  a  change  of 
the  organ  of  abuse. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi, 
305.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

731.  BANKS,   Precautions  against.-— In 
order  to  be  able  to  meet  a  general  combination 
of  the  banks  against  us,   in  a  critical  emer 
gency,  could  we  not  make  a  beginning  to 
wards  an  independent  use  of  our  own  money, 
towards  holding  our  own  bank  in  all  the  de 
posits  where  it  is   received,   and  letting  the 
treasurer  give  his  draft  or  note,  for  payment 
at  any  particular  place,  which,  in  a  well-con 
ducted  government,  ought  to  have  as  much 
credit  as  any  private  draft,  or  bank  note,  or 
bill,   and   would   give   us   the   same   facilities 
which  we  derive  from  the  banks. — To  ALBERT 
GALLATIN.    v,  520.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  285.     (W., 
Dec.  1803.) 

732.  BANKS,  Private  Fortunes  and.-— 
Private  fortunes,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
circulation,   are  at  the   mercy  of   those   self- 
created  money-lenders,  and  are  prostrated  by 
the  floods  of  nominal  money  with  which  their 
avarice  deluges  us.     He  who  lent  his  money 
to  the  public  or  to  an  individual,  before  the 
institution  of  the  United  States  Bank,  twenty 
years  ago,   when  wheat   was  well   sold  at  a 
dollar  the  bushel,  and  receives  now  his  nom 
inal    sum    when    it    sells   at   two    dollars,    is 
cheated  of  half  his  fortune;  and  by  whom  ? 
By  the  banks,  which,  since  that,  have  thrown 
into  circulation  ten  dollars  of  their  nominal 
money  where  there  was  one  at  that  time. — To 
JOHN  W.  EPPES.    vi,    142.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  394. 
(M.,  June  1813.) 

733. .  It  is  cruel  that  such  revo 
lutions  in  private  fortunes  should  be  at  the 
mercy  of  avaricious  adventurers,  who  in 
stead  of  employing  their  capital,  if  any  they 
have,  in  manufactures,  commerce,  and  other 
useful  pursuits,  make  it  an  instrument  to  bur 
den  all  the  interchanges  of  property  with  their 
swindling  profits,  profits  which  are  the  price 
of  no  useful  industry  of  theirs. — To  DR. 
THOMAS  COOPER,  vi,  295.  (M.,  1814.) 

734. .    The  flood  of  paper  money 

had  produced  an  exaggeration  of  nominal 
prices,  and  at  the  same  time  a  facility  of  ob 
taining  money,  which  not  only  encouraged 
speculations  on  fictitious  capital,  but  seduced 
those  of  real  capital,  even  in  private  life,  to 
contract  debts  too  freely.  Had  things  con 
tinued  in  the  same  course,  these  might  have 
been  manageable ;  but  the  operations  of  the 
United  States  bank  for  the  demolition  of  the 
State  banks  obliged  these  suddenly  to  call  in 
more  than  half  their  paper,  crushed  all  ficti 
tious  and  doubtful  capital,  and  reduced  the 
prices  of  property  and  produce  suddenly  to 
one-third  of  what  they  had  been. — To  ALBERT 
GALLATIN.  FORD  ED.,  x,  176.  (M.,  Dec.  1820.) 

735.  BANKS,  Scarcity  of  Medium  and. 

— Instead  of  yielding  to  the  cries  of  scarcity 
of  medium  set  up  by  speculators,  projectors 
and  commercial  gamblers,  no  endeavors 
should  be  spared  to  begin  the  work  of  reduc 
ing  it  by  such  gradual  means  as  may  give 


79 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


time  to  private  fortunes  to  preserve  their 
poise,  and  settle  down  with  the  subsiding 
medium. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.  vi,  246.  FORD  ED., 
ix,  417.  (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

736. .    We  are  called  on  to  add 

ninety  millions  more  to  the  circulation.  Pro 
ceeding  in  this  career,  it  is  infallible,  that  we 
must  end  where  the  Revolutionary  paper 
ended.  Two  hundred  millions  was  the  whole 
amount  of  all  the  emissions  of  the  old  Con 
gress,  at  which  point  their  bills  ceased  to  cir 
culate.  We  are  now  at  that  sum,  but  with 
treble  the  population,  and  of  course  a  longer 
tether.  Our  depreciation  is.  as  yet,  but  about 
two  for  one.  Owing  to  the  support  its  credit 
receives  from  the  small  reservoirs  of  specie  in 
the  vaults  of  the  banks,  it  is  impossible  to  say 
at  what  point  their  notes  will  stop.  Nothing 
is  necessary  to  effect  it  but  a  general  alarm; 
and  that  may  take  place  whenever  the  public 
shall  begin  to  reflect  on,  and  perceive  the  im 
possibility  that  the  banks  should  repay  this 
sum.  At  present,  caution  is  inspired  no 
farther  than  to  keep  prudent  men  from  selling 
property  on  long  payments.  Let  us  suppose 
the  panic  to  arise  at  three  hundred  millions,  a 
point  to  which  every  session  of  the  Legis 
lature  hastens  us  by  long  strides.  Nobody 
dreams  that  they  would  have  three  hundred 
millions  of  specie  to  satisfy  the  holders  of 
their  notes.  Were  they  even  to  stop  now,  no 
one  supposes  they  have  two  hundred  millions 
in  cash,  or  even  the  sixty-six  and  two-third 
millions,  to  which  amount  alone  the  law  com 
pels  them  to  repay.  One  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  and  one-third  millions  of  loss,  then,  is 
thrown  on  the  public  by  law;  and  as  to  the 
sixty-six  and  two-thirds,  which  they  are  legally 
bound  to  pay,  and  ought  to  have  in  their 
vaults,  every  one  knows  there  is  no  such 
amount  of  cash  in  the  United  States,  and 
what  would  be  the  course  with  what  they 
really  have  there?  Their  notes  are  refused. 
Cash  is  called  for.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
banking  towns  will  get  what  is  in  the  vaults, 
until  a  few  banks  declare  their  insolvency ; 
when,  the  general  crush  becoming  evident, 
the  others  will  withdraw  even  the  cash  they 
have,  declare  their  bankruptcy  at  once,  and 
have  an  empty  house  and  empty  coffers  for 
the  holders  of  their  notes.  In  this  scramble 
of  creditors,  the  country  gets  nothing,  the 
towns  but  little.  What  are  they  to  do?  Bring 
suits?  A  million  of  creditors  bring  a  million 
of  suits  against  John  Nokes  and  Robert 
Styles,  wheresoever  to  be  found?  All  non 
sense.  The  loss  is  total.  And  a  sum  is  thus 
swindled  from  our  citizens,  of  seven  times 
the  amount  of  the  real  debt,  and  four  times 
that  of  the  fictitious  one  of  the  United  States, 
at  the  close  of  the  war.  All  this  they  will 
justly  charge  on  their  Legislatures ;  but  this 
will  be  poor  satisfaction  for  the  two  or  three 
hundred  millions  they  will  have  lost.  It  is 
time,  then,  for  the  public  functionaries  to  look 
to  this.  Perhaps  it  may  not  be  too  late.  Per 
haps,  by  giving  time  to  the  banks,  they  may 
call  in  and  pay  off  their  paper  by  deerrees. 
But  no  remedy  is  ever  to  be  expected  while 
it  rests  with  the  State  Legislatures.  Personal 


motive  can  be  excited  through  so  many  ave 
nues  to  their  will,  that,  in  their  hands,  it  will 
continue  to  go  on  from  bad  to  worse,  until 
the  catastrophe  overwhelms  us.  —  To  J.  W. 
EPPES.  vi,  243.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  414.  (M.,  Nov. 
1813.) 


—  .    Our  circulating  paper  of 

the  last  year  was  estimated  at  two  hundred 
millions  of  dollars.  The  new  banks  now 
petitioned  for,  to  the  several  Legislatures,  are 
for  about  sixty  millions  additional  capital,  and 
of  course  one  hundred  and  eighty  millions 
of  additional  circulation,  nearly  doubling  that 
of  the  last  year,  and  raising  the  whole  mass 
to  near  four  hundred  millions,  or  forty  for 
one,  of  the  wholesome  amount  of  circulation 
for  a  population  of  eight  millions  circum 
stanced  as  we  are,  and  you  remember  how 
rapidly  our  money  went  down  after  our  forty 
for  one  establishment  in  the  Revolution.  I 
doubt  if  the  present  trash  can  hold  as  long. 
I  think  the  three  hundred  and  eighty  mil 
lions  must  blow  all  up  in  the  course  of  the 
present  year,  or  certainly  it  will  be  consum 
mated  by  the  reduplication  to  take  place  of 
course  at  the  legislative  meetings  of  the  next 
winter.  Should  not  prudent  men,  who  pos 
sess  stock  in  any  moneyed  institution,  either 
draw  and  hoard  the  cash  now  while  they  can, 
or  exchange  it  for  canal  stock,  or  such  other 
as  being  bottomed  on  immovable  property 
will  remain  unhurt  by  the  crush?  —  To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  vi,  306.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

738.  -  --  .  —  .     Two  hundred  millions  in 
actual  circulation  and  two  hundred  millions 
more  likely  to  be  legitimated  by  the  legislative 
sessions   of   this    winter,   will   give   us   about 
forty    times    the    wholesome    circulation    for 
eight  millions  of  people.    When  the  new  emis 
sions  get  out,  our  legislatures  will  see,  what 
they  otherwise  cannot  believe,  that  it  is  pos 
sible  to  have  too  much  money.  —  To  PRESIDENT 
MADISON.   FORD  ED.,  ix,  453.     (M.,  Feb.  1814.) 

739.  -  —  .     The  evils  of  this  deluge 
of  paper  money  are  not  to  be  removed,  until 
our  citizens  are  generally  and   radicallv  in 
structed    in    their   course   and    consequences, 
and  silence  by  their  authority  the  interested 
clamors  and   sophistry  of   speculating,   shav 
ing,  and  banking  institutions.     Till  then  we 
must  be  content  to  return,  quoad  hoc,  to  the 
savage  state,  to  recur  to  barter  in  the  ex 
change  of  our  property,   for  the  want  of  a 
stable,  common  measure  of  value,  that  now  in 
use    being    less    fixed    than    the    beads    and 
wampum  of  the  Indian,  and  to  deliver  up  our 
citizens,  their  property  and  their  labor,  pas 
sive  victims  to  the  swindling  tricks  of  bankers 
and  mountebankers.  —  To  JOHN  ADAMS,     vii, 
115.      (M.,    1819.) 

740.  BANKS,  Sound  Money.—  But,  it  will 
be  asked,  are  we  to  have  no  banks  ?    Are  mer 
chants  and  others  to  be  deprived  of  the  re 
source  of  short  accommodations,  found  so  con 
venient?     I  answer,  let  us  have  banks;  but 
let  them  be  such  as  are  alone  to  be  found  in 
any  country  on  earth,  except  Great  Britain. 
There  is  not  a  bank  of  discount  on  the  con- 


Banks 
Barbary  States 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


80 


tinent  of  Europe  (at  least  there  was  not  one 
when  I  was  there),  which  offers  anything 
but  cash  in  exchange  for  discounted  bills. 
No  one  has  a  natural  right  to  the  trade  of  a 
money  lender,  but  he  who  has  the  money  to 
lend.  Let  those  then  among  us,  who  have  a 
moneyed  capital,  and  who  prefer  employing 
it  in  loans  rather  than  otherwise,  set  up 
banks,  and  give  cash  or  national  bills  for  the 
notes  they  discount.  Perhaps,  to  encourage 
them,  a  larger  interest  than  is  legal  in  the 
other  cases  might  be  allowed  them,  on  the 
condition  of  their  lending  for  short  periods 
only.  It  is  from  Great  Britain  we  copy  the 
idea  of  giving  paper  in  exchange  for  dis 
counted  bills ;  and  while  we  have  derived 
from  that  country  some  good  principles  of 
government  and  legislation,  we  unfortunately 
run  into  the  most  servile  imitations  of  all  her 
practices,  ruinous  as  they  prove  to  her,  and 
with  the  gulf  yawning  before  us  into  which 
these  very  practices  are  precipitating  her. — 
To  JOHN  W.  EPPES.  vi,  141.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
394.  (M.,  June  1813.) 

741. .  Let  banks  continue  if 

they  please,  but  let  them  discount  for  cash 
alone  or  for  treasury  notes.  They  discount 
for  cash  alone  in  every  other  country  on 
earth  except  Great  Britain,  and  her  too  often 
unfortunate  copyist,  the  United  States.  If 
taken  in  time  they  may  be  rectified  by  degrees, 
but  if  let  alone  till  the  alternative  forces  it 
self  on  us,  of  submitting  to  the  enemy  for 
want  of  funds,  or  the  suppression  of  bank 
paper,  either  by  law  or  by  convulsion,  we  can 
not  foresee  how  it  will  end. — To  J.  W.  EPPES. 
vi,  199.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  399.  (P.  F.,  Sept. 
1813-) 

742. .  To  the  existence  of  banks 

of  discount  for  cash,  as  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  there  can  be  no  objection,  because 
there  can  be  no  danger  of  abuse,  and  they 
are  a  convenience  both  to  merchants  and  in 
dividuals.  I  think  they  should  even  be  en 
couraged,  by  allowing  them  a  larger  than 
legal  interest  on  short  discounts,  and  tapering 
thence  in  proportion  as  the  term  of  discount 
is  lengthened,  down  to  legal  interest  on  those 
of  a  year  or  more. — To  J.  W.  EPPES.  vi,  247. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  417.  (M.,  Nov.  1813.) 

743.  BANKS,  Suspend  Specie  Pay 
ments. — The  paper  bubble  is  burst.  This  is 
what  you  and  I,  and  every  reasoning  man. 
seduced  by  no  obliquity  of  mind  or  interest, 
have  long  foreseen.  We  were  laboring  under 
a  dropsical  fulness  of  circulating  medium. 
Nearly  all  of  it  is  now  called  in  by  the  banks, 
who  have  the  regulation  of  the  safety-valves 
of  our  fortunes,  and  who  condense  and  ex 
plode  them  at  their  will.  Lands  in  this  State 
[Virginia"!  cannot  now  be  sold  for  a  year's 
rent;  and  unless  our  Legislature  have  wis 
dom  enough  to  effect  a  remedy  by  a  gradual 
diminution  only  of  the  medium,  there  will 
be  a  general  revolution  of  property  in  this 
State.  Over  our  own  paper  and  that  of  other 
States  coming  among  us,  they  have  competent 
powers ;  over  that  of  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  there  is  doubt,  not  here,  but  elsewhere. 


That  bank  will  probably  conform  voluntarily 
to  such  regulations  as  the  Legislature  may 
prescribe  for  the  others.  If  they  do  not,  we 
must  shut  their  doors,  and  join  the  other 
States  which  deny  the  right  of  Congress  to 
establish  banks,  and  solicit  them  to  agree  to 
some  mode  of  settling  this  constitutional 
question.  They  have  themselves  twice  de 
cided  against  their  right,  and  twice  for  it. 
Many  of  the  States  have  been  uniform  in 
denying  it,  and  between  such  parties  the  Con 
stitution  has  provided  no  umpire. — To  JOHN- 
ADAMS,  vii,  142.  FORD  ED.,  x,  147.  (M., 
Nov.  1819.)  See  MONEY  and  PAPER  MONEY. 

744.  BANNEKER   (Benjamin),  Talents 

of. — We  have  now  in  the  United  States  a 
negro,  the  son  of  a  black  man  born  in  Africa, 
and  a  black  woman  born  in  the  United  States, 
who  is  a  very  respectable  mathematician.  I 
procured  him  to  be  employed  under  one  of  our 
chief  directors  in  laying  out  the  new  Federal 
city  on  the  Potomac,  and  in  the  intervals  of 
his  leisure,  while  on  that  work,  he  made  an 
almanac  for  the  next  year,  which  he  sent  me 
in  his  own  handwriting,  and  which  I  enclose  to 
you.  I  have  seen  very  elegant  solutions  of 
geometrical  problems  by  him.  Add  to  this  that 
he  is  a  very  worthy  and  respectable  member  of 
society.  He  is  a  free  man.  I  shall  be  delighted 
to  see  these  instances  of  moral  eminence  so 
multiplied  as  to  prove  that  the  want  of  talents, 
observed  in  them,  is  merely  the  effect  of  their 
degraded  condition,  and  not  proceeding  from 
any  difference  in  the  structure  of  the  parts  on 
which  intellect  depends. — To  MARQUIS  DE  CON- 
DORCET.  FORD  EDV  v,  379.  (Pa.,  1791.) 

745.  BARBARISM,  America    and.— We 

are  destined  to  be  a  barrier  against  the  re 
turn  of  ignorance  and  barbarism. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  vii,  27.  (M.,  1816.) 

746.  BARBARISM,  End  to.— Barbarism 

*  *  *  will  in  time,  I  trust,  disappear  from  the 
earth.— To  WILLIAM  LUDLOW.  vii,  377.  (M., 
1824.) 

-  BARBARY  STATES,  Algerine  Cap 
tives. — See  CAPTIVES. 

747.  BARBARY    STATES,    A    Confed 
eration  against. — I  was  very  unwilling  that 
we  should  acquiesce  in  the  European  humil 
iation  of  paying  a  tribute  to  those  *  *  *  pi 
rates,  and  endeavored  to  form  an  association 
of  the  powers   subject  to  habitual   depreda 
tions  from  them.    I  accordingly  prepared,  and 
proposed  to  their  ministers  at  Paris,  for  con 
sultation  with  their  governments,  articles  of  a 
special     confederation. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY.       i, 
65.    FORD  ED.,  i,  91.    (1821.) 

748.  BARBARY    STATES,    Confedera 
tion     Articles.— Proposals     for     concerted 
operation   among  the  powers   at  war  with   the 
piratical  States  of  Barbary:     i.  It  is  proposed, 
that  the  several  powers  at  war  with  the  pirat 
ical  States  of  Barbary,  or  any  two  or  more  of 
them   who   shall   be  willing,   shall   enter   into   a 
convention  to  carry  on  their  operations  against 
those    States,    in    concert,    beginning    with    the 
Algerines.     2.  This     convention     shall     remain 
open  to  any  other  power  who  shall   at  any  fu 
ture  time  wish  to  accede  to  it ;    the  parties  re 
serving  the  right  to  prescribe  the  conditions  of 
such  accession,  according  to  the  circumstances 
existing   at  the  time   it   shall  be  proposed.     3. 


8i 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Barbary  States 


The  object  of  the  convention  shall  be  to  compel 
the  piratical  States  to  perpetual  peace,  without 
price,  and  to  guarantee  that  peace  to  each  other. 
4.  The  operations  for  obtaining  this  peace  shall 
be  constant  cruisers  on  their  coast,  with  a  naval 
force  now  to  be  agreed  on.  It  is  not  proposed 
that  this  force  shall  be  so  considerable  as  to  be 
inconvenient  to  any  party.  It  is  believed  that 
half  a  dozen  frigates,  with  as  many  tenders  or 
Xebecs,  one  half  of  which  shall  be  in  cruise, 
while  the  other  half  is  at  rest,  will  suffice.  5. 
The  force  agreed  to  be  necessary  shall  be  fur 
nished  by  the  parties  in  certain  quotas  now  to 
be  fixed ;  it  being  expected  that  each  will  be 
willing  to  contribute  in  such  proportion  as  cir 
cumstances  may  render  reasonable.  6.  The  mis 
carriages  often  proceed  from  the  want  of  har 
mony  among  officers  of  different  nations,  the 
parties  shall  now  consider  and  decide  whether 
it  will  not  be  better  to  contribute  their  quotas 
in  money  to  be  employed  in  fitting  out,  and 
keeping  on  duty,  a  single  fleet  of  the  force 
agreed  on.  7.  The  difficulties  and  delays  too 
which  will  attend  the  management  of  these 
operations,  if  conducted  by  the  parties  them 
selves  separately,  distant  as  their  Courts  may 
be  from  one  another,  and  incapable  of  meeting 
in  consultation,  suggest  a  question  whether  it 
will  not  be  better  for  them  to  give  full  powers 
for  that  purpose  to  their  Ambassadors  or  other 
Ministers  Resident  at  some  one  Court  of  Eu 
rope,  who  shall  form  a  Committee  or  Council 
for  carrying  this  convention  into  effect ;  wherein 
the  vote  of  each  member  shall  be  computed  in 
proportion  to  the  quota  of  his  sovereign,  and 
the  majority  so  computed  shall  prevail  in  all 
questions  within  the  view  of  this  convention. 
The  Court  of  Versailles  is  proposed,  on  account 
of  its  neighborhood  to  the  Mediterranean,  and 
because  all  those  powers  are  represented  there, 
who  are  likely  to  become  parties  to  this  con 
vention.  8.  To  save  to  that  council  the  embar 
rassment  of  personal  solicitations  for  office,  and 
to  assure  the  parties  that  their  contributions 
will  be  applied  solely  to  the  object  for  which 
they  are  destined,  there  shall  be  no  establish 
ment  of  officers  for  the  said  Council,  such  as 
Commissioners,  Secretaries,  or  any  other  kind, 
with  either  salaries  or  perquisites,  nor  any 
other  lucrative  appointments  but  such  whose 
functions  are  to  be  exercised  on  board  the  said 
vessels.  9.  Should  war  arise  between  any  two 
of  the  parties  to  this  convention  it  shall  not 
extend  to  this  enterprise,  nor  interrupt  it ;  but 
as  to  this  they  shall  be  reputed  at  peace.  10. 
When  Algiers  shall  be  reduced  to  peace,  the 
other  piratical  States,  if  they  refuse  to  dis 
continue  their  piracies,  shall  become  the  objects 
of  this  convention,  either  successively  or 
together,  as  shall  seem  best.  n.  Where  this 
convention  would  interfere  with  treaties  actu 
ally  existing  between  any  two  of  the  parties  and 
the  said  States  of  Barbary,  the  treaty  shall 
prevail,  and  such  party  shall  be  allowed  to 
withdraw  from  the  operations  against  that 
State. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  i,  65.  FORD  ED.,  \, 
91- 

749.  BARBARY  STATES,  Congress 
and. — Nothing  was  now  wanting  to  bring  it 
into  direct  and  formal  consideration  but  the 
assent  of  our  government,  and  their  author 
ity  to  make  the  formal  proposition.  I  com 
municated  to  them  the  favorable  prospect  of 
protecting  our  commerce  from  the  Barbary 
depredations,  and  for  such  a  continuance  of 
time  as,  by  an  exclusion  of  them  from  the 
sea,  to  change  their  habits  and  characters 
from  a  predatory  to  an  agricultural  people: 
towards  which  however  it  was  expected  they 


would  contribute  a  frigate,  and  its  expenses 
to  be  in  constant  cruise.  But  they  were  in 
no  condition  to  make  any  such  engagement. 
Their  recommendatory  powers  for  obtaining 
contributions  were  so  openly  neglected  by  the 
several  States  that  they  declined  an  engage 
ment  which  they  were  conscious  they  could 
not  fulfil  with  punctuality;  and  so  it  fell 
through. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  i,  67.  FORD  ED., 

1,  93.     (1821.) 

750.  BARBARY  STATES,  Europe  and. 

— Spain  had  just  concluded  a  treaty  with  Al 
giers,  at  the  expense  of  three  millions  of  dol 
lars,  and  did  not  like  to  relinquish  the  benefit 
of  that  until  the  other  party  should  fail  in  their 
observance  of  it.  Portugal,  Naples,  the  two 
Sicilies,  Venice,  Malta,  Denmark  and  Sweden 
were  favorably  disposed  to  such  an  association  ; 
but  their  representatives  at  Paris  expressed 
apprehensions  that  France  would  interfere,  and, 
either  openly  or  secretly  support  the  Barbary 
powers  ;  and  they  required  that  I  should  ascer 
tain  the  dispositions  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes 
on  the  subject.  I  had  before  taken  occasion 
to  inform  him  of  what  we  were  proposing,  and 
therefore  did  not  think  it  proper  to  insinuate 
any  doubt  of  the  fair  conduct  of  his  govern 
ment  ;  but  stating  our  propositions,  I  mentioned 
the  apprehensions  entertained  by  us  that  Eng 
land  would  interfere  in  behalf  of  those  pirat 
ical  governments.  "  She  dares  not  do  it/  said 
he.  I  pressed  it  no  further.  The  other  Agents 
were  satisfied  with  this  indication  of  his  senti 
ments. — AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  i,  67.  FORD  ED.,  i, 
93-  (1821.) 

751.  BARBARY  STATES,   Great  Brit 
ain   and.— I    hinted   to    the    Count   de   Ver 
gennes  that   I   thought  the   English   capable  of 
administering  aid  to  the  Algerines.     He  seemed 
to  think  it  impossible  on  account  of  the  scandal 
it  would  bring  on  them. — To  JOHN  JAY.     i,  575. 
FORD  ED.,  iv,  228.     (P.,  1786.) 

752.  BARBARY    STATES,    Jefferson's 
Views  on. — Our  instructions  relative  to  the 
Barbary   States  haying  required  us  to  proceed 
by  way  of  negotiation  to  obtain  their  peace,  it 
became  our  duty  to  do  this  to  the  best  of  our 
power.     Whatever  might  be   our  private   opin 
ions,  they  were  to  be  suppressed,  and  the  line 
marked  out  to  us  was  to  be  followed.     It  has 
been  so,  honestly  and  zealously.     It  was,  there 
fore,  never  material  for  us  to  consult  together, 
on  the  best  plan  of  conduct  toward  these  States. 
I  acknowledge,  I  very  early  thought  it  would  be 
best  to  effect  a  peace  through  the  medium  of 
war.     Though   it  is  a  question  with  which  we 
have  nothing  to   do,  yet  as  you  propose   some 
discussion   of  it,    I   shall   trouble   you   with   my 
reasons.     Of   the   four   positions   laid   down   by 
you,   I   agree  to  the  three  first,   which   are,   in 
substance,  that  the  good  offices  of  our  friends 
cannot  procure  us  a  peace  without  paying   its 
price ;    that  they  cannot  materially  lessen  that 
price ;     and   that   paying   it,    we   can    have   the 
peace  in  spite  of  the  intrigues  of  our  enemies. 
As  to  the  fourth,  that  the  longer  the  negotia 
tion  is  delayed,  the  larger  will  be  the  demand ; 
this  will  depend  on  the  intermediate  captures : 
if  they  are  many  and   rich,   the  price  may  be 
raised ;     if   few   and   poor,    it   will   be   lessened. 
However,  if  it  is  decided  that  we  shall  buy  a 
peace,  I  know  no  reason  for  delaying  the  opera 
tion,    but    should    rather   think    it    ought   to    be 
hastened  ;    but  I  should  prefer  the  obtaining  it 
by  war.      i.  Justice  is  in  favor  of  this  opinion. 

2.  Honor  favors   it.     3.  It  will   procure  us  re 
spect  in  Europe ;    and  respect  is  a  safeguard  to 


Barbary  States 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


82 


interest.  4.  It  will  arm  the  Federal  head  with 
the  safest  of  all  the  instruments  of  coercion 
over  its  delinquent  members,  and  prevent  it 
from  using  what  would  be  less  safe.  I  think 
that  so  far,  you  go  with  me.  But  in  the  next 
steps,  we  shall  differ.  5.  I  think  it  least  ex 
pensive.  I  ask  a  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
guns,  the  one-half  of  which  shall  be  in  constant 
cruise.  This  fleet,  built,  manned  and  victualled 
for  six  months  will  cost  four  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  pounds  sterling.  Its  annual  expense 
will  be  three  hundred  pounds  sterling  a  gun, 
including  everything;  this  will  be  forty-five 
thousand  pounds  sterling  a  year.  I  take  the 
British  experience  for  the  basis  of  my  calcula 
tion  ;  though  we  know,  from  our  own  experi 
ence,  that  we  can  do  it  in  this  way,  for  pounds 
lawful,  what  costs  them  pounds  sterling.  Were 
we  to  charge  all  this  to  the  Algerine  war,  it 
would  amount  to  little  more  than  we  must  pay, 
if  we  buy  peace.  But  as  it  is  proper  and  neces 
sary  that  we  should  establish  a  small  marine 
force  (even  were  we  to  buy  a  peace  from  the 
Algerines),  and  as  that  force,  laid  up  in  our 
dockyards,  would  cost  us  half  as  much  annu 
ally,  as  if  kept  in  order  for  service,  we  have  a 
right  to  say  that  only  twenty-two  thousand  and 
five  hundred  pounds  sterling,  per  annum,  should 
be  charged  to  the  Algerine  war.  6.  It  will  be 
as  effectual.  To  all  the  mismanagements  of 
Spain  and  Portugal,  urged  to  show  that  war 
against  these  people  is  ineffectual,  I  urge  a 
single  fact  to  prove  the  contrary,  where  there  is 
any  management.  About  forty  years  ago,  the 
Algerines  having  broken  their  treaty  with 
France,  that  court  sent  Monsieur  de  Massiac, 
with  one  large  and  two  small  frigates ;  he  block 
aded  the  harbor  of  Algiers  three  months,  and 
they  subscribed  to  the  terms  he  proposed.  If  it 
be  admitted,  however,  that  war,  on  the  fairest 
prospects,  is  still  exposed  to  uncertainties,  I 
weigh  against  this  the  greater  uncertainty  of 
the  duration  of  a  peace  bought  with  money, 
from  such  a  people,  from  a  Dey  eighty  years 
old,  and  by  a  nation  who,  on  the  hypothesis  of 
buying  peace,  is  to  have  no  power  on  the  sea 
to  enforce  an  observance  of  it.  So  far,  I  have 
gone  on  the  supposition  that  the  whole  weight 
of  this  war  would  rest  on  us.  But,  i.  Naples 
will  join  us.  The  character  of  their  naval 
minister  (Acton),  his  known  sentiments  with 
respect  to  the  peace  Spain  is  officiously  trying 
to  make  for  them,  and  his  dispositions  against 
the  Algerines,  give  the  best  grounds  to  believe 
it.  2..  Every  principle  of  reason  assures  us  that 
Portugal  will  join  us.  I  state  this  as  taking 
for  granted,  what  all  seem  to  believe,  that  they 
will  not  be  at  peace  with  Algiers.  I  suppose, 
then,  that  a  convention  might  be  formed  be 
tween  Portugal,  Naples  and  the  United  States, 
by  which  the  burthen  of  the  war  might  be 
quotaed  on  them,  according  to  their  respective 
wealth ;  and  the  term  of  it  should  be,  when 
Algiers  should  subscribe  to  a  peace  with  all 
three,  on  equal  terms.  This  might  be  left  open 
for  other  nations  to  accede  to.  and  many,  if 
not  most,  of  the  powers  of  Europe  (except 
France,  England,  Holland,  and  Spain,  if  her 
peace  be  made),  would  sooner  or  later  enter 
into  the  confederacy,  for  the  sake  of  having 
their  peace  with  the  piratical  States  guaranteed 
by  the  whole.  I  suppose,  that,  in  this  case,  our 
proportion  of  force  would  not  be  the  half  of 
what  I  first  calculated  on. — To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
i,  SQL  (P.,  July  1786.) 

753. .  Were  the  honor  and  ad 
vantage  of  establishing  such  a  confederacy 
[against  tbe  piratical  powers]  out  of  the  ques 
tion,  yet  the  necessity  that  the  United  States 
should  have  some  marine  force,  and  the  hap 


piness  of  this,  as  the  ostensible  cause  for  be 
ginning  it,  would  decide  on  its  propriety.  It 
will  be  said,  there  is  no  money  in  the  treasury. 
There  never  will  be  money  in  the  treasury,  till 
the  confederacy  shows  its  teeth.  The  States 
must  see  the  rod ;  perhaps  it  must  be  felt  by 
some  one  of  them.  I  am  persuaded,  all  of 
them  would  rejoice  to  see  every  one  obliged  to 
furnish  its  contributions.  It  is  not  the  diffi 
culty  of  furnishing  them,  which  beggars  the 
treasury,  but  the  fear  that  others  will  not  fur 
nish  as  much.  Every  rational  citizen  must  wish 
to  see  an  effective  instrument  of  coercion,  and 
should  fear  to  see  it  on  any  other  element  than 
the  water. — To  JAMES  MONROE,  i,  606.  FORD 
ED.,  iv,  264.  (P.,  1786.) 

754.  BABBABY  STATES,  The  Medi 
terranean  and.— Algiers,  Tunis  and  Tripoli, 
remaining  hostile,  will  shut  up  the  Mediterra 
nean  to  us. — To  GOVERNOR  HENRY,  i,  601.  (P., 
1786.) 

755. .     The    Algerines    form    an 

obstacle;  but  the  object  of  our  commerce  in 
the  Mediterranean  is  so  immense  that  we  ought 
to  surmount  that  obstacle,  and  I  believe  it  can 
be  done  by  means  in  our  power,  and  which, 
instead  of  fouling  us  with  the  dishonorable  and 
criminal  baseness  of  France  and  England,  will 
place  us  in  the  road  to  respect  with  all  the 
world. — To  E.  RUTLEDGE.  iii,  no.  (P.,  1789.) 

—  BABBABY   STATES,   Morocco.— See 

MOROCCO. 

756.  BABBABY  STATES,  Purchasing 
Peace  with.— What  will  you  do  with  the 
piratical  States?  Buy  a  peace  at  their  enor 
mous  price;  force  one;  or  abandon  the  car 
riage  into  the  Mediterranean  to  other  powers? 
All  these  measures  are  disagreeable. — To  EL- 
BRIDGE  GERRY,  i,  557.  (P.,  1786.) 

757. .     The    States    of    Algiers, 

Tunis  and  Tripoli  hold  their  peace  at  a  price 
which  would  be  felt  by  every  man  in  his  set 
tlement  with  the  taxgatherer. — To  PATRICK 
HENRY,  i,  601.  (P.,  1786.) 

758. .     It  is  not  in  the  choice  of 

the  States,  whether  they  will  pay  money  to 
cover  their  trade  against  the  Algerines.  If  they 
obtain  a  peace  by  negotiation,  they  must  pay 
a  great  sum  of  money  for  it ;  if  they  do  noth 
ing,  they  must  pay  a  great  sum  of  money  in  the 
form  of  insurance ;  and  in  either  way,  as  great 
a  one  as  in  the  way  of  force,  and  probably  less 
effectual. — To  JAMES  MONROE,  i,  607.  FORD 
ED.,  iv,  265.  (P.,  1786.) 

759. .     Congress  must  begin  by 

getting  money.  When  they  have  this,  it  is  a 
matter  of  calculation  whether  they  will  buy  a 
peace,  or  force  one,  or  do  nothing. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,  i,  585.  (P.,  1786.) 

760. .     The    continuance    of    [a 

purchased]  peace  with  the  Barbary  States  will 
depend  on  their  idea  of  our  power  to  enforce 
it.  and  on  the  life  of  the  particular  Dey,  or 
other  head  of  the  government,  with  whom  it  is 
contracted.  Congress  will,  no  doubt,  weigh 
these  circumstances  against  the  expense  and 
probable  success  of  compelling  a  peace  by  arms. 
— To  JAMES  MONROE,  i,  565.  FORD  ED.,  iv, 
221.  (P.,  1786.) 


761. 


In    London    Mr.    Adams 


and  I  had  conferences  with  a  Tripoline  am 
bassador,  named  Abdrahaman.  He  asked  us 
thirty  thousand  guineas  for  a  peace  with  his 
court,  and  as  much  for  Tunis,  for  which  he 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Barbary  States 
Barclay  (Thomas) 


said  he  could  answer.  What  we  were  author 
ized  to  offer,  being  to  this  but  as  a  drop  to  a 
bucket,  our  conferences  were  repeated  only  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  information.  If  the 
demands  of  Algiers  and  Morocco  should  be  in 
proportion  to  this,  according  to  their  superior 
power,  it  is  easy  to  foresee  that  the  United 
States  will  not  buy  a  peace  with  money. — To 
WILLIAM  CARMICHAEL.  i,  551.  (P.,  1786.) 

762. .  The  Tripoline  ambassa 
dor  offered  peace  for  30,000  guineas  for  Tripoli, 
and  as  many  for  Tunis.  Calculating  on  this 
scale,  Morocco  should  ask  60,000,  and  Algiers 
120,000. — To  DAVID  HUMPHREYS,  i,  559.  (P., 
1786.) 

763. .     A  second  plan  might  be 

to  obtain  peace  by  purchasing  it.  For  this  we 
have  the  example  of  rich  and  powerful  nations, 
in  this  instance  counting  their  interest  more 
than  their  honor. — REPORT  ON  MEDITERRANEAN 
TRADE,  vii,  522.  (1790.) 

764. .     As  the   duration  of  this 

peace  cannot  be  counted  on  with  certainty,  and 
we  look  forward  to  the  necessity  of  coercion  by 
cruises  on  their  coast,  to  be  kept  up  during  the 
whole  of  their  cruising  season,  you  will  be 
pleased  to  inform  yourself  *  *  *  of  every 
circumstance  which  may  influence  or  guide  us 
in  undertaking  and  conducting  such  an  opera 
tion. — To  JOHN  PAUL  JONES,  iii,  438.  (Pa., 
1792.) 

765.  BABBABY  STATES,  Suppression 

of- — The  attempts  heretofore  made  to  sup 
press  the  [Barbary]  powers  have  been  to  exter 
minate  them  at  one  blow.  They  are  too  nu 
merous  and  powerful  by  land  for  that.  A  small 
effort,  but  long  continued,  seems  to  be  the  only 
method.  By  suppressing  their  marine  and  trade 
totally,  and  continuing  this  till  the  present  race 
of  seamen  should  be  pretty  well  out  of  the  way, 
and  the  younger  people  betake  themselves  to 
husbandry  for  which  their  soil  and  climate  are 
well  fitted,  these  nests  of  banditti  might  be  re 
formed. — To  JAMES  MONROE.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  -n. 
(P.,  1785.) 

766.  BABBABY   STATES,   Tribute  to. 
—It   is   impossible   I   fear  to  find  out   what 
[tribute]    is   given   by   other   countries    [to   the 
piratical    States].     Either    shame    or    jealousy 
makes  them  wish  to  keep  it  secret. — To  JAMES 
MONROE.     FORD  ED.,  iv,  31.     (P.,  1785.) 

767. .      The    Algerines,    I    fear, 

will  ask  such  a  tribute  for  the  forbearance  of 
their  piracies  as  the  United  States  would  be 
unwilling  to  pay.  When  this  idea  comes  across 
my  mind  my  faculties  are  absolutely  suspended 
between  indignation  and  impotence.  I  think 
whatever  sums  we  are  obliged  to  pay  for  free 
dom  of  navigation  in  the  European  seas,  should 
be  levied  on  European  commerce  with  us,  by  a 
separate  impost ;  that  these  powers  may  see 
that  they  protect  these  enormities  for  their  own 
loss.  To  NATHANIEL  GREENE.  FORD  ED.,  iv, 
*5-  (P,  1785.) 

768. .     Such  [European]  powers 

as  should  refuse  [to  join  a  confederation  to 
suppress  the  Barbary  piracies]  would  give  us  a 
just  right  to  turn  pirates  also  on  their  West 
India  trade,  and  to  require  an  annual  tribute 
which  might  reimburse  what  we  may  be  obliged 
to  pay  to  obtain  a  safe  navigation  in  their  seas. 
— To  JAMES  MONROE.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  33.  (P., 


769.  BABBABY    STATES,    War   with. 
—From  what  I  learn  from  the  temper  of  my 


countrymen  and  their  tenaciousness  of  money, 
it  will  be  more  easy  to  raise  ships  to  fight  these 
pirates  into  reason  than  money  to  bribe  them. — 
To  EZRA  STILES,  ii,  78.  (P.,  1786.) 

770.  -  — .      The     motives     pleading 
for   war   rather   than   tribute    [to   the   piratical 
States]  are  numerous  and  honorable  ;  those  op 
posing  them   are   mean   and   short-sighted. — To 
JAMES  MONROE.     FORD  ED.,  iv,  32.     (P.,  1785.) 

—  BABBABY      STATES,      War     with 
Tripoli.— See  TRIPOLI. 

771.  BABBABY     STATES,     Weakness 
°f- — These    pirates    are    contemptibly    weak. 
Morocco,  who  has  just  dared  to  commit  an  out 
rage  on  us,  owns  only  four  or  five  frigates  of 
1 8  or  20   guns.     There   is   not  a  port   in   their 
country  which  has  more  than  13  feet  of  water. 
Tunis  is  not  quite  so  strong   (having  three  or 
four    frigates    only,    small    and    worthless)  ;    is 
more    mercantile    than    predatory,    and    would 
easily    be    led    to    treat    either    by    money    or 
fear.      Tripoli    has   one    frigate    only.      Algiers 
alone     possesses     any     power,     and     they     are 
brave.     As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover, 
she  possesses  about  sixteen  vessels,  from  22  up 
to  52  guns ;  but  the  vessels  of  all  these  powers 
are  wretched   in  the  last  degree,   being  mostly 
built  of  the  discordant  pieces  of  other  vessels 
which  they  take  and  pull  asunder ;  their  cord 
age  and  sails  are  of  the  same  kind,  taken  from 
vessels   of   different   sizes   and   powers,    seldom 
any  two  guns  of  the  same  bore  and  all  of  them 
light. — To    JAMES    MONROE.     FORD    ED.,    iv,    31. 
(P.,  1785.)     See  MOROCCO,  TRIPOLI  and  TUNIS. 

772.  BABCLAY  (Thomas),  Missions  to 
Morocco. — Though  we  are  not  authorized  to 
delegate    to    Mr.    Barclay    the    power    of    ulti 
mately  signing  the  treaty,  yet  such  is  our  re 
liance  on  his  wisdom,  his  integrity,  and  his  at 
tention    to    the    instructions    with    which    he    is 
charged,  that  we  assure  his   Majesty,  the  con 
ditions    which    he    shall    arrange    and    send    to 
us,  shall  be  returned  with  our  signature.* — To 
THE     EMPEROR     OF     MOROCCO,      i,     419.      (P., 
1/85.) 

773. .      Mr.     Barclay's     mission 

has  been  attended  with  complete  success.  For 
this  we  are  indebted,  unquestionably,  to  the 
influence  and  good  offices  of  the  court  of  Mad 
rid. — To  JOHN  JAY.  ii,  85.  (P.,  1786.) 

774. .     You    have    my    full    and 

hearty  approbation  of  the  treaty  you  obtained 
from  Morocco,  which  is  better  and  on  better 
terms  than  I  expected. — To  THOMAS  BARCLAY. 
ii,  125.  (P.,  1787.) 

775. .     You  are  appointed  by  the 

President  *  *  *  to  go  to  the  court  of  Morocco, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  from  the  new 
Emperor,  a  recognition  of  our  treaty  with  his 
father.  As  it  is  thought  best  that  you  should 
go  in  some  definite  character,  that  of  consul 
has  been  adopted. — To  THOMAS  BARCLAY,  iii, 
261.  (P.,  1791.) 

776. .     As  you  have  acted  since 

my  arrival  in  France,  in  the  characters  of 
Consul  General  for  that  country,  and  Minister 
to  the  Court  of  Morocco,  and  also  as  agent  in 
some  particular  transactions  for  the  State  of 
Virginia,  I  think  it  is  a  duty  to  yourself,  to 
truth,  and  to  justice,  on  your  departure  for 
America,  to  declare  that  in  all  these  characters, 

*  Mr.  Barclay  was  U.  S.  Consul-General  at  Paris. 
Jefferson  and  Adams  appointed  him  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  with  the  Emperor  of  Morocco.— EDITOR. 


Barlow  (Joel) 
Bastrop's  Case 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


84 


as  far  as  has  come  within  my  notice,  you  have 
acted  with  judgment,  with  attention,  with  in 
tegrity  and  honor.* — To  THOMAS  BARCLAY,  ii, 
211.  (P.,  1787-) 

777.  BARLOW  (Joel),  Proposed  His 
tory  by. — Mr.  Madison  and  myself  have  cut 
out  a  piece  of  work  for  you,  which  is  to  write 
the  history  of  the  United  States,  from  the  close 
of  the  war  downwards.  We  are  rich  ourselves 
in  materials,  and  can  open  all  the  public 
archives  to  you ;  but  your  residence  here 
[Washington]  is  essential,  because  a  great  deal 
of  the  knowledge  of  things  is  not  on  paper, 
but  only  within  ourselves,  for  verbal  commu 
nication.  John  Marshall  is  writing  the  life  of 
General  Washington  from  his  papers.  It  is  in 
tended  to  come  out  just  in  time  to  influence 
the  next  Presidential  election.  It  is  written, 
therefore,  principally  with  a  view  to  election 
eering  purposes.  But  it  will  consequently  be 
out  in  time  to  aid  you  with  information,  as 
well  as  to  point  out  the  perversions  of  truth 
necessary  to  be  rectified. — To  JOEL  BARLOW. 
iv,  438.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  151.  (W.,  May 
1802.) 

778. .  You  owe  to  republican 
ism,  and  indeed  to  the  future  hopes  of  man,  a 
faithful  record  of  the  march  of  this  govern 
ment,  which  may  encourage  the  oppressed  to 
go  and  do  likewise.  Your  talents,  your  princi 
ples,  and  your  means  of  access  to  public  and 
private  sources  of  information,  with  the 
leisure  which  is  at  your  command,  point  you 
out  as  the  person,  who  is  to  do  this  act  of  jus 
tice  to  those  who  believe  in  the  improvability 
of  the  condition  of  man,  and  who  have  acted 
on  that  behalf,  in  opposition  to  those  who  con 
sider  man  as  a  beast  of  burthen  made  to  be 
ridden  by  him  who  has  genius  enough  to  get  a 
bridle  into  his  mouth. — To  JOEL  BARLOW,  v, 
496.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  269.  (M.,  1810.) 

779. .  I  felicitate  you  on  your 

destination  to  Paris  [as  minister].  *  _*  *  Yet 
it  is  not  unmixed  with  regret.  What  is  to  be 
come  of  our  post-revolutionary  history?  _  Of 
the  antidotes  of  truth  to  the  misrepresentations 
of  Marshall?  This  example  proves  the  wis 
dom  of  the  maxim,  never  put  off  till  to-mor 
row  what  can  be  done  to-day. — To  JOEL  BAR 
LOW,  v,  587.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  322.  (M.,  April 
1811.) 

780.  BARLOW  (Joel),  Works  of.— I 
thank  you  for  your  "  Conspiracy  of  Kings " 
and  advice  to  the  privileged  orders.  Be  as 
sured  that  your  endeavors  to  bring  the  trans- 
Atlantic  world  into  the  road  of  reason,  are  not 
without  their  effect  in  America.  Some  here 
are  disposed  to  move  retrograde,  and  to  take 
their  stand  in  the  rear  of  Europe,  now  advanc 
ing  to  the  high  ground  of  natural  right. — To 
JOEL  BARLOW,  iii,  451-  FORD  ED.,  vi,  88.  (P., 
1792.) 

781. .  Thomas  Jefferson  re 
turns  thanks  to  Mr.  Barlow  for  the  copy  of 
the  "  Columbiad "  he  has  been  so  kind  as  to 
send  him ;  the  eye  discovers  at  once  the  excel 
lence  of  the  mechanical  execution  of  the  work, 
and  he  is  persuaded  that  the  mental  part  will 
be  found  to  have  merited  ^  it.  He  will  not  do 
it  the  injustice  of  giving  it  such  a  reading  as 
his  situation  here  [Washington]  would  admit 

*  Mr.  Barclay,  while  acting  for  the  United  States 
in  Europe,  was  engaged  in  commercial  transactions 
on  his  own  account.  His  arrest  for  debt  by  credit 
ors  led  to  some  discussion  with  the  French  govern 
ment  which  is  embodied  in  Jefferson's  Writings. 
—EDITOR. 


of  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  and  at  intervals  of 
many  days.  He  will  reserve  it  for  that  retire 
ment  after  which  he  is  panting,  and  not  now 
very  distant,  where  he  may  enjoy  it  in  full  con 
cert  with  its  kindred  scenes,  amidst  those  rural 
delights  which  join  in  chorus  with  the  poet, 
and  give  to  his  song  all  its  magic  effect. — To 
JOEL  BARLOW,  v,  238.  (W.,  1808.) 

—  BARRUEL    (Abbe),    Book    by.— See 
ILLUMINATI. 

—  BARRY,  Commodore  J.— See  MOURN 
ING. 

782.  BASTILE,  Fall  of  the.— The  mob, 
now  openly  joined  by  the  French  guards, 
forced  the  prison  of  St.  Lazare,  released  all  the 
prisoners,  and  took  a  great  store  of  corn, 
which  they  carried  to  the  corn  market.  Here 
they  got  some  arms,  and  the  French  guards 
began  to  form  and  train  them.  The  committee 
determined  to  raise  forty-eight  thousand  Bour- 
geoise,  or  rather  to  restrain  their  numbers  to 
forty-eight  thousand.  On  the  i4th  [July],  they 
sent  one  of  their  members  (Monsieur  de 
Corny,  whom  we  knew  in  America)  to  the 
Hotel  des  Invalides,  to  ask  arms  for  their 
Garde  Bourgeoise.  He  was  followed  by,  or  he 
found  there,  a  great  mob.  The  Governor  _  of 
the  Invalides  came  out,  and  represented  the  im 
possibility  of  delivering  his  arms,  without  the 
orders  of  those  from  whom  he  received  them. 
De  Corny  advised  the  people  then  to  retire, 
and  retired  himself ;  and  the  people  took  pos 
session  of  the  arms.  It  was  remarkable,  that 
not  only  the  Invalides  themselves  made  no  op 
position,  but  that  a  body  of  five  thousand 
foreign  troops,  encamped  within  four  hundred 
yards,  never  stirred.  Monsieur  de  Corny  and 
five  others  were  then  sent  to  ask  arms  of 
Monsieur  de  Launey,  Governor  of  the  Bastile. 
They  found  a  great  collection  of  people  already 
before  the  place,  and  they  immediately  planted 
a  flag  of  truce,  which  was  answered  by  a  like 
flag  hoisted  on  the  parapet.  The  deputation 
prevailed  on  the  people  to  fall  back  a  little, 
advanced  themselves  to  make  their  demand  of 
the  Governor,  and  in  that  instant  a  discharge 
from  the  Bastile  killed  four  of  those  nearest  to 
the  deputies.  The  deputies  retired ;  the  people 
rushed  against  the  place,  and  almost  in  an  in 
stant  were  in  possession  of  a  fortification,  de 
fended  by  one  hundred  men,  of  infinite  strength, 
which  in  other  times  had  stood  several  regular 
sieges,  and  had  never  been  taken.  How  they 
got  in,  has,  as  yet,  been  impossible  to  discover. 
Those  who  pretend  to  have  been  of  the  party 
tell  so  many  different  stories,  as  to  destroy  the 
credit  of  them  all.  They  took  all  the  arms, 
discharged  the  prisoners,  and  such  of  the  gar 
rison  as  were  not  killed  in  the  first  moment 
of  fury:  carried  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant 
Governor  to  the  Greve  (the  place  of  public 
execution),  cut  off  their  heads,  and  sent  them 
through  the  city  in  triumph  to  the  Palais 
Royal. — To  JOHN  JAY.  iii,  "76.  (P.,  July  19 
1789.) 

783.  BASTROP'S  CASE,  Account  of.— 
I  find  Bastrop's  case  less  difficult  than  I  had 
expected.  My  view  of  it  is  this :  The  Gov 
ernor  of  Louisiana  being  desirous  of  introduc 
ing  the  culture  of  wheat  into  that  province, 
engages  Bastrop  as  an  agent  for  carrying  that 
object  into  effect.  He  agrees  to  lay  off  twelve 
leagues  square  on  the  Washita  and  Bayou 
Hard  as  a  settlement  for  the  culture  of  wheat, 
to  which  Bastrop  is  to  bring  five  hundred  fam 
ilies,  each  of  which  families  is  to  have  four 
hundred  arpens  of  the  land ;  the  residue  of 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


"Batture 


the  twelve  leagues  square,  we  may  understand, 
was  to  be  Bastrop's  premium.  The  government 
was  to  bear  the  expense  of  bringing  these  emi 
grants  from  New  Madrid,  and  was  to  allow 
them  rations  for  six  months, — Bastrop  under 
taking  to  provide  the  rations,  and  the  govern 
ment  paying  a  seal  and  a  half  for  each.  Bas 
trop  binds  himself  to  settle  the  five  hundred 
families  in  three  years,  and  the  Governor  es 
pecially  declares  that  if  within  that  time  the 
major  part  of  the  establishment  shall  not  have 
been  made  good,  the  twelve  leagues  square, 
destined  for  Bastrop's  settlers,  shall  be  occu 
pied  by  the  families  first  presenting  themselves 
for  that  purpose.  Bastrop  brings  on  some  set 
tlers, — how  many  does  not  appear,  and  the 
intendant,  from  a  want  of  funds,  suspends 
further  proceeding  in  the  settlement  until  the 
King's  decision.  (His  decision  of  what? 
Doubtless  whether  the  settlement  shall  proceed 
on  these  terms,  and  the  funds  be  furnished 
by  the  King?  or  shall  be  abandoned?)  He 
promises  Bastrop,  at  the  same  time,  that  the 
former  limitation  of  three  years  shall  be  ex 
tended  to  two  years,  after  the  course  of  the 
contract  shall  have  again  commenced  to  be 
executed,  and  the  determination  of  the  King 
shall  be  made  known  to  Bastrop.  Here,  then, 
is  a  complete  suspension  of  the  undertaking 
until  the  King's  decision,  and  his  silence  from 
that  time  till,  and  when,  he  ceded  the  province, 
must  be  considered  as  an  abandonment  of  the 
project.  There  are  several  circumstances  in 
this  case  offering  ground  for  question,  whether 
Bastrop  is  entitled  to  any  surplus  of  the  lands. 
But  this  will  be  an  investigation  for  the  At 
torney  General.  But  the  uttermost  he  can 
claim  is  a  surplus  proportioned  to  the  number 
of  families  to  be  settled,  that  is  to  say,  a  quota 
ol  land  bearing  such  a  proportion  to  the  num 
ber  of  families  he  settled  (deducting  four  hun 
dred  arpens  for  each  of  them)  as  one  hun 
dred  and  forty-four  square  leagues  bear  to 
the  whole  number  of  five  hundred  families. 
The  important  fact,  therefore,  to  be  settled, 
is  the  number  of  families  he  established  there 
before  the  suspension. — To  ALBERT  GALLATIN. 
v,  231.  (Jan.  1808.) 

784.  BATTURE,   Authority   over.— Mr. 

Livingston,  *  *  *  finding  that  we  considered 
the  Batture  as  now  resting  with  Congress,* 
and  that  it  is  our  duty  to  keep  it  clear  of  all 
adversary  possession  till  their  decision  is  ob 
tained  [has  written]  a  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  which,  if  we  understand  it,  amounts 
to  a  declaration  that  he  will  *  *  *  bring  the 
authority  of  the  court  into  array  against  that  of 
the  Executive,  and  endeavor  to  obtain  a  forci 
ble  possession.  But  I  presume  that  the  court 
knows  too  well  that  the  title  of  the  United 
States  to  land  is  subject  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  no  court,  it  having  never  been  deemed  safe 
to  submit  the  major  interests  of  the  nation 
to  an  ordinary  tribunal,  or  to  any  one  but  such 
as  the  Legislature  establishes  for  the  special 
occasion ;  and  the  marshal  will  find  his  duty 
too  plainly  marked  out  in  the  act  of  March  3, 
1807,  to  be  at  a  loss  to  determine  what  author 
ity  he  is  to  obey. — To  GOVERNOR  CLAIBORNE. 
v,  319.  (W.,  July  1808.) 

785.  BATTURE,  Jefferson's  action  in. 
— The   interposition   noticed  by  the   Legisla 
ture  of  Orleans  was  an  act  of  duty  of  the  office 
I    then    occupied.     Charged    with    the    care    of 
the  general  interests  of  the  nation,  and  among 
these  with  the  preservation  of  their  lands  from 
intrusion,  I  exercised,  on  their  behalf,  a  right 

*  Jefferson  in  a  special  message,  March  7,  1808,  laid 
the  case  before  Congress  for  its  action.— EDITOR. 


given  by  nature  to  all  men,  individual  or  as 
sociated,  that  of  rescuing  their  own  property 
wrongfully  taken.  In  cases  of  forcible  entry 
on  individual  possessions,  special  provisions, 
both  of  the  common  and  civil  law,  have  re 
strained  the  right  of  rescue  by  private  force, 
and  substituted  the  aid  of  the  civil  power.  But 
no  law  has  restrained  the  right  of  the  nation 
itself  from  removing  by  its  own  arm,  in 
truders  on  its  possessions.  On  the  contrary, 
a  statute  recently  passed,  had  required  that 
such  removals  should  be  diligently  made.  The 
Batture  of  New  Orleans,  being  a  part  of  the 
bed  contained  between  the  two  banks  of  the 
river,  a  naked  shoal  indeed  at  low  water,  but 
covered  through  the  whole  season  of  its  regular 
full  tides,  and  then  forming  the  ground  of  the 
port  and  harbor  for  the  upper  navigation,  over 
which  vessels  ride  of  necessity  when  moored  to 
the  bank,  I  deemed  it  public  property,  in 
which  all  had  a  common  use.  The  removal, 
too,  of  the  force  which  had  possessed  itself  of 
it,  was  the  more  urgent  from  the  interruption 
it  might  give  to  the  commerce,  and  other  law 
ful  uses,  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  of 
the  Western  waters  generally. — To  GOVERNOR 
CLAIBORNE.  v,  518.  (M,  1810.) 

786.  BATTURE,     Livingston's     suit.— 

Livingston  has  served  a  writ  on  me,  stating 
damages  at  $100,000. — To  PRESIDENT  MADISON. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  275.  (M.,  1810.) 

787.  BATTURE,    Marshall's   bias   and. 
— In  speaking  of  Livingston's  suit,  I  omitted 
to  observe  that  it  is  a  little  doubted  that  his 
knowledge  of  Marshall's  character  has  induced 
him    to    bring   this    action.     His    testifications 
in  the  case  of  Marbury,  in  that  of  Burr,  and  the 
Yazoo    case    show    how    dexterously    he    can 
reconcile  law  to  his  own  personal  biasses  ;  and 
nobody   seems  to   doubt  that  he   is   ready  pre 
pared  to  Decide  that  Livingston's  right  to  the 
batture     is     unquestionable,     and     that     I     am 
bound  to  pay  for  it  with  my  private  fortune. — 
To    PRESIDENT    MADISON.     FORD    ED.,    ix,    276. 
(M.,  1810.) 

788. .    What    the    issue   of  the 

case  ought  to  be,  no  unbiased  man  can  doubt. 
What  it  will  be,  no  one  can  tell.  The  judge's 
[Marshall's]  inveteracy  is  profound,  and  his 
mind  of  that  gloomy  malignity  which  will  never 
let  him  forego  the  opportunity  of  satiating  it 
on  a  victim.  His  decisions,  his  instructions  to 
a  jury,  his  allowances  and  disallowances  and 
garblings  of  evidence,  must  all  be  subjects  of 
appeal.  I  consider  that  as  my  only  chance  of 
saving  my  fortune  from  entire  wreck.  And  to 
whom  is  my  appeal?  From  the  judge  in 
Burr's  case  to  himself  and  his  associate  judges 
in  the  case  of  Marbury  v.  Madison.  Not  ex 
actly,  however.  I  observe  old  Gushing  is  dead. 
At  length,  then,  we  have  a  chance  of  getting  a 
republican  majority  in  the  Supreme  judiciary. 
— To  ALBERT  GALLATIN.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  284. 
(M.,  Sep.  1810.) 

789.  BATTURE,    Title    to.— I    have    no 
concern  at  all  in  maintaining  the  title  to   the 
batture.     It   would   be   totally   unnecessary    for 
me  to  employ  counsel  to  go  into  the  question  at 
all  for  my  own  defence.     That  is  solidly  built 
on  the  simple  fact,  that  if  I  were  in  error,  it 
was   honest,    and   not   imputable   to    that   gross 
and    palpable    corruption    or    injustice    which 
makes    a    public    magistrate    responsible    to    a 
private   party. — To   ALBERT   GALLATIN.     v,    537. 
(M.,  1810.) 

790.  BATTURE,     True     course    in.— If 
human  reason  is  not  mere  illusion,  and  law  a 


JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


86 


labyrinth  without  a  clew,  no  error  has  been 
committed  ['in  the  Batture  case]. — BATTURE 
CASE,  viii,  604.  (1812.) 

791.  BAYARD  (James  A.),  Aaron  Burr 
and. — Edward  Livingston  tells  me  that  Bay 
ard    applied    to-day    or    last    night    to    General 
Samuel  Smith,  and  represented  to  him  the  ex 
pediency  of  his  coming  over  to  the  States  who 
vote  for  Burr   [for  President],  that  there  was 
nothing  in  the  way   of  appointment  which   he 
might  not  command,  and  particularly  mentioned 
the    Secretaryship    of   the    Navy.     Smith   asked 
him   if  he   was   authorized   to   make   the   offer. 
He  said  he  was  authorized.     Smith  told  this  to 
Livingston,  and  to  W.  C.  Nicholas  who  confirms 
it    to    me.     Bayard,    in    like    manner,    tempted 
Livingston,  not  by  offering  any  particular  office, 
but  by  representing  to   him   his    (Livingston's) 
intimacy  and  connection  with  Burr ;  that  from 
him  he  had  everything  to  expect,  if  he  would 
come   over  to   him.     To   Doctor   Linn   of   New 
Jersey,    they   have    offered   the   government    of 
New  Jersey. — THE  ANAS,     ix,  202.     FORD  ED., 
i,   291.      (Feb.    1808.)      See  ELECTIONS,   PRESI 
DENTIAL,    1800. 

792.  BEAUMARCHAIS  (M.),  Claim  of. 

—I  hear  that  Mr.  Beaumarchais  means  to 
make  himself  heard,  if  the  memorial  which  he 
sends  by  an  agent  in  the  present  packet  is  not 
attended  to  as  he  thinks  it  ought  to  be.  He 
called  on  me  with  it  and  desired  me  to  recom 
mend  his  case  to  a  decision,  and  to  note  in 
my  dispatch  that  it  was  the  first  time  he  had 
spoken  to  me  on  the  subject.  This  is  true,  it 
being  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  him ;  but  my 
recommendations  would  be  as  displaced  as  un 
necessary.  I  assured  him  Congress  would  do 
in  that  business  what  justice  should  require, 
and  their  means  enabled  them. — To  JOHN  JAY. 
ii,  232.  (P.,  1787.) 

793. .     A  final  decision  of  some 

sort  should  be  made  on  Beaumarchais's  affairs. 
— To  JAMES  MADISON,  ii,  209.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  423. 
(P.,  1787.) 

794.  BEE,  The  Honey.— The  honey-bee 
is  not  a  native  of  our  continent.  Marcgrove, 
indeed,  mentions  a  species  of  honey-bee  in 
Brazil.  But  this  has  no  sting,  and  is  therefore 
different  from  the  one  we  have,  which  resem 
bles  perfectly  that  of  Europe.  The  Indians 
concur  with  us  in  the  tradition  that  it  was 
brought  from  Europe ;  but  when,  and  by  whom, 
we  know  not.  The  bees  have  generally  ex 
tended  themselves  into  the  country,  a  little  in 
advance  of  the  white  settlers.  The  Indians, 
therefore,  call  them  the  white  man's  fly,  and 
consider  their  approach  as  indicating  the  ap 
proach  of  the  settlements  of  the  whites. — 
NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,  viii,  319.  FORD  ED.,  iii, 
175.  (1782.) 

795. .    How     far     northwardly 

have  these  insects  been  found?  That  they 
are  unknown  in  Lapland,  I  infer  from  Schef- 
fer's  information,  that  the  Laplanders  eat  the 
pine  bark,  prepared  in  a  certain  way,  instead 
of  those  things  sweetened  with  sugar.  *  *  * 
Certainly  if  they  had  honey,  it  would  be  a  bet 
ter  substitute  for  sugar  than  any  preparation  of 
the  pine  bark.  Kalm  tells  us  the  honey-bee 
cannot  live  through  the  winter  in  Canada.  They 
furnish  then  an  additional  remarkable  fact,  first 
observed  by  the  Count  de  Buffon,  and  which 
has  thrown  such  a  blaze  of  light  on  the  field 
of  natural  history,  that  no  animals  are  found  in 
both  continents,  but  those  which  are  able  to 
bear  the  cold  of  those  regions  where  they  prob 


ably     join. — NOTES     ON    VIRGINIA,      viii,     320. 
FORD  ED.,  iii,  176.     (1782.) 

796.  BEER  vs.  WHISKY.— There  is  be 
fore  the  Assembly  [of  Virginia]  a  petition  of  a 
Captain  Miller,  which  I  have  at  heart,  because 
I   have  great  esteem   for  the   petitioner   as   an 
honest  and  useful  man.     He  is  about  to  settle 
in  pur  country,  and  to  establish  a  brewery,  in 
which  art  I  think  him  as  skilful  a  man  as  has 
ever    come    to    America.     I    wish    to    see    this 
beverage  become  common  instead  of  the  whis 
ky   which   kills   one-third   of   our   citizens,   and 
ruins    their    families.     He    is    staying   with    me 
until  he  can  fix  himself,  and  I  should  be  thank 
ful   for  information  from  time  to  time  of  the 
progress  of  his  petition. — To  CHARLES  YANCEY. 
vi,  515.     FORD  ED.,  x,  2.     (M.,  1815.) 

797.  BELLIGERENTS,    Code   of   Rules 
for. — First.  The  original  arming  and  equip 
ping  of  vessels   in   the  ports   of  the   United 
States  by  any  of  the  belligerent  powers  for 
military    service,    offensive    or    defensive,    is 
deemed    unlawful.     Second.     Equipment    of 
merchant  vessels  by  either  of  the  belligerent 
parties    in   the   ports    of   the    United    States, 
purely  for  the  accommodation  of  them  as  such, 
is  deemed  lawful.     Third.  Equipments  in  the 
ports  of  the  United  States  of  vessels  of  war 
in  the  immediate  service  of  the  government 
of  any  of  the  belligerent  parties,   which,   if 
done  to  other  vessels,  would  be  of  a  doubtful 
nature,  as  being  applicable  either  to  commerce 
or    war,    are    deemed    lawful,     except     those 
which  shall  have  made  prize  of  the  subjects, 
people  or  property  of  France,   coming  with 
their    prizes    into    the    ports    of    the    United 
States,  pursuant  to  the  seventeenth  article  of 
our    treaty    of    amity    and    commerce    with 
France.     Fourth.  Equipments  in  the  ports  of 
the  United  States  by  any  of  the  parties  at  war 
with  France,  of  vessels  fitted  for  merchandise 
and  war,  whether  with  or  without  commis 
sions,  which  are  doubtful  in  their  nature,  as 
being  applicable  either  to  commerce  or  war, 
are  deemed  lawful,  except  those  which  shall 
have  made  prize,  &c.     Fifth.  Equipments  of 
any  of  the  vessels  of  France  in  the  ports  of 
the  United  States,  which  are  doubtful  in  their 
nature,  as  being  applicable  to  commerce  or 
war,  are  deemed  lawful.     Sixth,  Equipments 
of  every  kind  in  the  ports    of    the    United 
States  of  privateers   of  the  powers   at   war 
with  France,  are  deemed  unlawful.     Seventh. 
Equipments   of   vessels   in   the   ports   of  the 
United  States  which  are  of  a  nature  solely 
adapted  to  war,  are  deemed  unlawful ;  except 
those  stranded  or  wrecked,  as  mentioned  in 
t,  i    eighteenth    article    of    our    treaty    with 
France,  the  sixteenth  of  our  treaty  with  the 
United  Netherlands,  the  ninth  of  our  treaty 
with  Prussia,  and  except  those  mentioned  in 
the   nineteenth   article   of    our    treaty    with 
France,   the   seventeenth   of  our  treaty  with 
the    United    Netherlands,    the    eighteenth    of 
our  treaty  with  Prussia.     Eighth.  Vessels  of 
either  of  the  parties  not  armed,  or  armed  pre 
vious  to  their  coming  into  the  ports  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  not  have  infringed 
any  of  the  foregoing  rules  may  lawfully  en 
gage  or  enlist  therein  their  own  subjects,  or 
aliens   not  being   inhabitants   of  the   United 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Belligerents 
Berlin  Decrees 


States,  except  privateers  of  the  powers  at 
war  with  France,  and  except  those  vessels 
which  shall  have  made  prize,  &c.  The  fore 
going  rules,  having  been  considered  by  us 
[the  Cabinet]  at  several  meetings,  and  being 
now  unanimously  approved,  they  are  sub 
mitted  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
— CABINET  DECISION,  ix,  440.  FORD  ED.,  vi, 
358.  (Aug.  3,1793.) 

798.  BELLIGERENTS,  History  of 
Bules. — At  a  cabinet  meeting  on  account  of 
the  British  letter-of-marque  ship  Jane,  said 
to  have  put  up  waste  boards,  to  have  pierced 
two  port-holes,  and  mounted  two  cannon 
(which  she  brought  in)  on  new  carriages 
which  she  did  not  bring  in,  and  consequently 
having  sixteen,  instead  of  fourteen,  guns 
mounted,  it  was  agreed  that  a  letter-of- 
marque,  or  vessel  arme  en  guerre,  and  en 
marchandise,  is  not  a  privateer,  and,  there 
fore,  not  to  be  ordered  out  of  our  ports.  It 
was  agreed  by  Hamilton,  Knox,  and  myself, 
that  the  case  of  such  a  vessel  does  not  depend 
on  the  treaties,  but  on  the  law  of  nations. 
Edmund  Randolph  thought,  as  she  had  a 
mixed  character  of  merchant  vessel  and  pri 
vateer,  she  might  be  considered  under  the 
treaty;  but  this  being  overruled,  the  follow 
ing  paper  was  written :  Rules  proposed  by 
Attorney  General :  i.  That  all  equipments 
purely  for  the  accommodation  of  vessels,  as 
merchantmen,  be  admitted.  (Agreed.)  2d. 
That  all  equipments,  doubtful  in  their  nature, 
and  applicable  equally  to  commerce  or  war, 
be  admitted,  as  producing  too  many  minutiae. 
(Agreed.)  3.  That  all  equipments,  solely 
adapted  to  military  objects,  be  prohibited. 
(Agreed.)  Rules  proposed  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury:  1st.  That  the  original  arm 
ing  and  equipping  of  vessels  for  military  ser 
vice,  offensive  or  defensive,  in  the  ports  of 
the  United  States,  be  considered  as  prohibited 
to  all.  (Agreed.)  2d.  That  vessels  which 
were  armed  before  their  coming  into  our 
ports,  shall  not  be  permitted  to  augment  these 
equipments  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States, 
but  may  repair  or  replace  any  military  equip 
ments  which  they  had  when  they  began  their 
voyage  for  the  United  States ;  that  this,  how 
ever,  shall  be  with  the  exception  of  privateers 
of  the  parties  opposed  to  France,  who  shall 
not  fit  or  repair  (Negatived,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  only  holding  this  opinion).  3d. 
That  for  convenience,  vessels  armed  and 
commissioned  before  they  come  into  our 
ports,  may  engage  their  own  citizens,  not 
being  inhabitants  of  the  United  States. 
(Agreed.)  I  subjoined  the  following:  I  con 
cur  in  the  rules  proposed  by  the  Attorney- 
General,  as  far  as  respects  materials  or  means 
of  annoyance  furnished  by  us ;  and  I  should 
be  for  an  additional  rule,  that  as  to  means 
or  materials  brought  into  this  country,  and 
belonging  to  themselves,  they  are  free  to  use 
them. — THE  ANAS,  ix,  161.  FORD  ED.,  i, 
250.  (July  1793.) 

799.  BELLIGERENTS,  Policy  toward. 
— Far  from  a  disposition  to  avail  our 
selves  of  the  peculiar  situation  of  any  bellig 
erent  nation  to  ask  concessions  incompatible 


with  their  rights,  with  justice,  or  reciprocity, 
we  have  never  proposed  to  any  the  sacrifice 
of  a  single  right :  and  in  consideration  of  ex 
isting  circumstances,  we  have  ever  been  will 
ing,  where  our  duty  to  other  nations  permit 
ted  us,  to  relax  for  a  time,  and  in  some  cases, 
that  strictness  of  right  which  the  laws  of  na 
ture,  the  acknowledgments  of  the  civilized 
world,  and  the  equality  and  independence  of 
nations  entitle  us  to. — R.  To  A.  ORLEANS 
LEGISLATURE,  viii,  129.  (June  1808.) 

800.  BELLIGERENTS,    Recruiting  by. 
— May    an    armed    vessel,    arriving    here,    be 
prohibited  to  employ  their  own  citizens  found 
here,  as  seamen  or  mariners?     They  cannot 
be  prohibited  to  recruit  their  own  citizens. — 
THE  ANAS.      ix,    158.      FORD    ED.,    i,    242. 
(I793-) 

801.  BELLIGERENTS,     Sale   of   Arms 
to. — Our  citizens  have  been  always  free  to 
make,  vend  and  export  arms.     It  is  the  con 
stant  occupation  and  livelihood  of  some  of 
them.     To  suppress  their  callings,   the  only 
means  perhaps  of  their  subsistence,  because 
a  war  exists  in  foreign  and  distant  countries, 
in  which  we  have  no  concern,  would  scarcely 
be  expected.    It  would  be  hard  in  principle, 
and  impossible  in  practice.     The  law  of  na 
tions,    therefore,     respecting    the    rights    of 
those  at  peace,  does  not  require  from  them 
such  an  internal  derangement  in  their  occu 
pations.     It  is  satisfied  with  the  external  pen 
alty  pronounced  in  the  President's  proclama 
tion,  that  of  confiscation  of  such  portion  of 
these  arms  as  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  any 
of  the  belligerent  powers  on  their  way  to  the 
ports  of  their  enemies.     To  this  penalty  our 
citizens  are  warned  that  they  will  be  aban 
doned  ;    and   that    even    private    contraven 
tions   may   work   no   inequality  between   the 
parties  at  war,  the  benefits  of  them  will  be 
left  equally  free  and  open  to  all. — To  GEORGE 
HAMMOND,    iii,  558.    FORD  ED.,  vi,  253.     (May 
I793-) 

802.  BELLIGERENTS,    Sale    of    Ships 
to. — The  United  States,  being  a  ship-building 
nation,  may  they  sell  ships,  prepared  for  war, 
to  both  parties?  They  may  sell  such  ships  in 
their  ports  to  both  parties,  or  carry  them  for 
s?le  to  the  dominions  of  both  parties. — ANAS. 
ix,  158.   FORDED.,  i,  242.    (1793-) 

803.  BELLIGERENTS,     Transit    Priv 
ileges. — It  is  well  enough  agreed,  in  the  law 
of  nations,  that  for  a  neutral  power  to  give  or 
refuse  permission   to  the    troops    of    either 
belligerent   party   to  pass   through   their  ter 
ritory,   is   no  breach   of   neutrality,   provided 
the  same  refusal  or  permission  be  extended 
to  the  other  party. — OFFICIAL  OPINION,     vii, 
500.    (Aug.  1790.)    See  NEUTRALITY. 

804.  BENEFICENCE,  Humanity  and.— 
I  believe  *  *  *  that  every  human  mind  feels 
pleasure  in  doing  good  to  another. — To  JOHN 
ADAMS,   vii,  39.     (M..  1816.) 

805.  BERLIN       DECREES,       Piratical 
Meaning  of. — These  decrees  and  orders  [of 
council!,     taken     together,     want     little     of 
amounting  to  a  declaration  that  every  neutral 


bible 

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88 


vessel  found  on  the  high  seas,  whatsoever  be 
her  cargo,  and  whatsoever  foreign  port  be 
that  of  her  departure  or  destination,  shall  be 
deemed  lawful  prize;  and  they  prove,  more 
and  more,  the  expediency  of  retaining  our 
vessels,  our  seamen,  and  property,  within  our 
own  harbors,  until  the  dangers  to  which  they 
are  exposed  can  be  removed  or  lessened. — 
SPECIAL  MESSAGE,  viii,  100.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
185.  (March  17  1808.)  See  EMBARGO. 

806.  BIBLE,  Circulation  of  the.— I  had 
not  supposed  there  was  a  family  in  this  State 
[Virginia]  not  possessing  a  Bible,  and  wish 
ing  without  haying  the  means  to  procure  one. 
When,   in   earlier   life,    I   was   intimate   with 
every  class,  I  think  I  never  was  in  a  house 
where  that  was  the  case.     However,  circum 
stances  may  have  changed,  and  the    [Bible] 
Society,  I  presume,  have  evidence  of  the  fact. 
I,  therefore,  enclose  you  cheerfully,  an  order 
*  *  *  for  fifty   dollars,    for  the  purposes   of 
the    Society.— To   SAMUEL   GREENHOW.      vi, 
308.     (M.,  1814.) 

807.  BIBLE,    Morality    in    the.— There 
never  was  a  more  pure  and  sublime  system 
of  morality  delivered  to  man  than  is  to  be 
found  in  the  four  Evangelists. — To  SAMUEL 
GREENHOW.   vi,  309.    (M.,  1814.) 

808.  BIBLE,   Protestants  and  the. — As 
to  tradition,  if  we  are  Protestants  we  reject 
all  tradition,  and  rely  on  the  Scripture  alone, 
for  that  is  the  essence  and  common  principle 
of   all   the    Protestant   churches.— NOTES   ON 
RELIGION.    FORD  ED.,  ii,  96.     (1776?.) 

809.  BIBLE,  Translation  of  the. — I  pro 
pose   [after  retirement],  among  my  first  em 
ployments,  to  give  to  the  Septuagint  an  at 
tentive  perusal.* — To  CHARLES  THOMSON,    v, 
403.    FORD  ED.,  ii,  234.     (W.,  1808.) 

810.  BIGOTRY,   A  Disease. — Bigotry  is 
the  disease  of  ignorance,  of  morbid  minds; 
enthusiasm  of  the  free  and  buoyant.     Educa 
tion  and  free  discussion  are  the  antidotes  of 
both.— To  JOHN  ADAMS,    vii,  27.   (M.,  1816.) 

811.  BIGOTRY,    Political    and    Relig 
ious. — What  an  effort  of  bigotry  in  politics 
and  religion  have  we  gone  through !  The  bar 
barians  really  flattered  themselves  they  should 
be  able  to  bring  back  the  times  of  Vandalism, 
when  ignorance  put  everything  into  the  hands 
of  power  and   priestcraft.     All   advances   in 
science  were  proscribed  as  innovations.    They 
pretended  to  praise  and  encourage  education, 
but  it  was  to  be  the  education  of  our  ances 
tors.     We  were  to  look  backwards,  not  for 
wards  for  improvement ;    the  President  him 
self    [John  Adams]    declaring  *  *  *  that  we 
were  never  to  expect  to  go  beyond  them  in 
real  science. — To  DR.  JOSEPH  PRIESTLEY,    iv, 
373.    FORD  ED.,  viii,  21.     (W.,  March  1801.) 

812.  BIGOTRY,    Self-government   and. 

— Ignorance  and  bigotry,  like  other  insanities, 
are  incapable  of  self-government. — To  MAR 
QUIS  LAFAYETTE,  vii,  67.  FORD  ED.,  x,  84. 
(M.,  1817.) 

*  Thomson's  translation  of  the  Septuagint.— ED 
ITOR. 


813.  BIGOTRIES,    Union    of.— All    big 
otries  hang  to  one  another. — To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
vi,  305.     (M.,  1814.) 

814.  BILL  OF  RIGHTS,  An  American 
Idea. — The  enlightened  part  of  Europe  have 
given  us  the  greatest  credit  for  inventing  this 
instrument  of  security  for  the  rights  of  the 
people,  and  have  been  not  a  little  surprised  to 
see  us  so  soon  give  it  up  [not  having  incor 
porated   one   in   the   new   Constitution]. — To 
F.    HQPKINSON.    ii,    586.     FORD    ED.,    v,    77. 
(P.,  March  1789.) 

815.  BILL  OF  RIGHTS,  The  Constitu 
tion  and.— [  do  not  like  [in  the  Federal  Con 
stitution]    first,    the    omission    of    a    bill    of 
rights,  providing  clearly  and  without  the  aid 
of  sophisms  for  freedom  of  religion,  freedom 
of    the    press,    protection    against    standing 
armies,   restriction   against    monopolies,     the 
eternal  and  unremitting  force  of  the  habeas 
corpus  laws,  and  trials  by  jury  in  all  matters 
of  fact  triable  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  and 
not  by  the  law  of  nations.     To  say,  as  Mr. 
Wilson   does,   that  a  bill   of  rights   was  not 
necessary,  because  all  is  reserved  in  the  case 
of    the    General    Government '  which    is    not 
given>    while    in    the    particular    ones,    all    is 
given  which  is  not  reserved,  might  do  for  the 
audience  to  whom  it  was  addressed;  but  it  is 
surely  a  gratis  dictum,  opposed  by  strong  in 
ferences  from  the  body  of  the  instrument,  as 
well  as  from  the  omission  of  the  clause  of 
our  present  confederation,  which  had  declared 
that  in  express  terms.     It  was  a  hard  conclu 
sion  to  say,  because  there  has  been  no  uni 
formity  among  the  States  as  to  the  cases  tri 
able  by  jury,  because  some  have  been  so  in 
cautious   as   to   abandon  this   mode  of  trial, 
therefore  the  more  prudent   States   shall   be 
reduced  to   the   same   level   of  calamity.     It 
would  have  been  much  more  just  and  wise  to 
have  concluded  the  other  way,  that  as  most 
of  the  States  had  judiciously  preserved  this 
palladium,  those  who  had  wandered  should 
be  brought  back  to  it,  and  to  have  established 
general  right  instead  of  general  wrong.*    Let 
me  add  that  a  bill  of  rights  is  what  the  people 
are  entitled  to  against  every  government  on 
earth,    general   or   particular ;    and   what   no 
just  government  should  refuse  or  rest  on  in 
ferences. — To  JAMES  MADISON,    ii,  329.    FORD 
ED.,  iv,  476.     (P.,  Dec.  1787.) 

816. .     I   am   in  hopes   that  the 

annexation  of  a  bill  of  rights  to  the  Consti 
tution  will  alone  draw  over  so  great  a  propor 
tion  of  the  minorities,  as  to  leave  little  dan 
ger  in  the  opposition  of  the  residue ;  and  that 
this  annexation  may  be  made  by  Congress 
and  the  Assemblies,  without  calling  a  con 
vention  which  might  endanger  the  most  valu 
able  parts  of  the  system. — To  GENERAL 
WASHINGTON,  ii,  533.  FORD  ED.,  v,  56.  (P., 
Dec.  1788.) 

*  The  Congress  edition  contains  the  following  pas 
sage:  "For  I  consider  all  the  ill  as  established, 
which  may  be  established.  I  have  a  right  to  noth 
ing,  which  another  has  a  right  to  take  away ;  and 
Congress  will  have  a  right  to  take  away  trials  by 
jury  in  all  civil  cases." — EDITOR. 


S9 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bill  of  Bights 


817.  BILL  OF  BIGHTS,  Demand  for.— 
I  sincerely  rejoice  at  the  acceptance  of  our 
new  Constitution  by  nine  States.  It  is  a 
good  canvas  on  which  some  strokes  only 
want  retouching.  What  these  are,  I  think 
are  sufficiently  manifested  by  the  general 
voice  from  north  to  south,  which  calls  for  a 
bill  of  rights.  It  seems  pretty  generally  un 
derstood  that  this  should  go  to  juries,  habeas 
corpus,  standing  armies,  printing,  religion, 
and  monopolies.  I  conceive  there  may  be  dif 
ficulty  in  finding  general  modifications  of 
these,  suited  to  the  habits  of  all  the  States. 
But  if  such  cannot  be  found,  then  it  is  better 
to  establish  trials  by  jury,  the  right  of  habeas 
corpus,  freedom  of  the  press,  and  freedom  of 
religion,  in  all  cases,  and  to  abolish  standing 
armies  in  time  of  peace,  and  monopolies  in  all 
cases,  than  not  to  do  it  in  any.  The  few 
cases  wherein  these  things  may  do  evil,  can 
not  be  weighed  against  the  multitude  wherein 
the  want  of  them  will  do  evil.  In  disputes 
between  a  foreigner  and  a  native,  a  trial  by 
jury  may  be  improper.  But  if  this  exception 
cannot  be  agreed  to,  the  remedy  will  be  to 
model  the  jury  by  giving  the  mediatas  lingua 
in  civil  as  well  as  criminal  cases.  Why  sus 
pend  the  habeas  corpus  in  insurrections  and 
rebellions  ?  The  parties  who  may  be  arrested, 
may  be  charged  instantly  with  a  well-defined 
crime;  of  course,  the  judge  will  remand  them. 
If  the  public  safety  requires  that  the  govern 
ment  should  have  a  man  imprisoned  on  less 
probable  testimony  in  this  than  in  other  emer 
gencies,  let  him  be  taken  and  tried,  and  re 
taken  and  retried,  while  the  necessity  contin 
ues,  only  giving  them  redress  against  the  gov 
ernment,  for  damages.  Examine  the  history 
of  England.  See  how  few  of  the  cases  of  the 
suspension  of  the  habeas  corpus  law  have 
been  worthy  of  that  suspension.  They  have 
been  either  real  treason,  wherein  the  parties 
might  as  well  have  been  charged  at  once,  or 
sham  plots,  where  it  was  shameful  they 
should  ever  have  been  suspected.  Yet  for  the 
few  cases  wherein  the  suspension  of  the 
habeas  corpus  has  done  real  good,  that  opera 
tion  is  now  become  habitual,  and  the  mass  of 
the  nation  almost  prepared  to  live  under  its 
constant  suspension.  A  declaration,  that  the 
Federal  government  will  never  restrain  the 
presses  from  printing  anything  they  please, 
will  not  take  away  the  liability  of  the  printers 
for  false  facts  printed.  The  declaration,  that 
religious  faith  shall  be  unpunished,  does  not 
give  impunity  to  criminal  acts,  dictated  by 
religious  error.  The  saying  there  shall  be  no 
monopolies,  lessens  the  incitements  to  ingenu 
ity,  which  is  spurred  on  by  the  hope  of  a 
monopoly  for  a  limited  time,  as  of  fourteen 
years;  but  the  benefit  of  even  limited  mon 
opolies  is  too  doubtful  to  be  opposed  to  that 
of  their  general  suppression.  If  no  check  can 
be  found  to  keep  the  number  of  standing 
troops  within  safe  bounds,  while  they  are  tol 
erated  as  far  as  necessary,  abandon  them  al 
together:  discipline  well  the  militia,  and 
guard  the  magazines  with  them.  More  than 
magazine  guards  will  be  useless  if  few,  and 
dangerous  if  many.  No  European  nation  can 
ever  send  against  us  such  a  regular  army  as 


we  need  fear;  and  it  is  hard  if  our  militia 
are  not  equal  to  those  of  Canada  or  Florida. 
My  idea  then,  is  that  though  proper  excep 
tions  to  these  general  rules  are  desirable,  and 
probably  practicable,  yet  if  the  exceptions 
cannot  be  agreed  on,  the  establishment  of  the 
rules  in  all  cases  will  do  ill  in  very  few.  I 
hope,  therefore,  a  bill  of  rights  will  be  formed, 
to  guard  the  people  against  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  as  they  are  already  guarded  against 
their  State  governments  in  most  instances. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON,  ii,  445.  FORD  ED.,  v, 
45-  (P.,  July  1788.) 

818.  BILL       OF       BIGHTS,       Fetters 
against  Evil.— By  a  declaration  of  rights  I 
mean   one   which   shall   stipulate   freedom   of 
religion,   freedom   of   the   press,    freedom   of 
commerce  against  monopolies,  trial  by  juries 
in  all  cases,  no  suspensions  of  the  habeas  cor 
pus,  no  standing  armies.     These  are  fetters 
against  doing  evil  which  no  honest  government 
should  decline. — To  A.  DONALD,    ii,  355.     (P., 
Feb.  1788.) 

819.  BILL   OF   BIGHTS,    A   Guard   to 

Liberty. — I  disapproved  from  the  first  mo 
ment  [in  the  new  Constitution]  the  want  of 
a  bill  of  rights,  to  guard  liberty  against  the 
legislative  as  well  as  the  executive  branches 
of  the  government;  that  is  to  say,  to  secure 
freedom  in  religion,  freedom  of  the  press, 
freedom  from  monopolies,  freedom  from  un 
lawful  imprisonment,  freedom  from  a  per 
manent  military,  and  a  trial  by  jury,  in  all 
cases  determinable  by  the  laws  of  the  land. — 
To  F.  HOPKINSON.  ii,  586.  FORD  ED.,  v,  76. 
(P.,  March  1789.) 

820.  BILL    OF   BIGHTS,    An   Insuffi 
cient. — I  like  the  declaration  of  rights  as  far 
as  it  goes,  but  I  should  have  been  for  going 
further.     For  instance,  the  following  altera 
tions  and  additions  would  have  pleased  me. 
"  Article  IV.  The  people  shall  not  be  deprived 
or  abridged  of  their  right  to  speak,  to  write, 
or   otherwise   to   publish   anything   but   false 
facts  affecting  injuriously  the  life,  liberty,  or 
reputation  of  others,  or  affecting  the  peace 
of  the    Confederacy    with    foreign    nations. 
Article  VII.    All  facts  put  in  issue  before  any 
judicature  shall  be  tried  by  jury  except,   I, 
in  cases  of  admiralty  jurisdiction  wherein  a 
foreigner  shall  be  interested ;  2,  in  cases  cog 
nizable    before   a    court   martial,    concerning 
only  the  regular  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
United  States,  or  members  of  the  militia  in 
actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  insurrection ; 
and,  3,  in  impeachments  allowed  by  the  Con 
stitution.     Article  VIII.     No  person  shall  be 

held  in  confinement  more  than days  after 

he  shall  have  demanded  and  been  refused  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  by  the  judge  appointed 

by  law,  nor  more  than days  after  such  a 

writ  shall   have  been   served  on  the  person 
holding   him    in    confinement,    and   no   order 
given  on  due  examination  for  his  remandment 

or  discharge,  nor  more  than hours  in  any 

place  of  a  greater  distance  than  miles 

from  the  usual  residence  of  some  judge  au 
thorized  to  issue  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus: 
nor  shall  that  writ  be  suspended  for  any  term 


Bill  of  Rights 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


90 


exceeding  one  year,  nor  in  any  place  more 

than  miles  distant  from  the  station  or 

encampment  of  enemies,  or  of  insurgents. 
Article  IX.  Monopolies  may  be  allowed  to 
persons  for  their  own  productions  in  litera 
ture,  and  their  own  inventions  in  the  arts, 

for  a  term  not  exceeding  years,  but  for 

no  longer  term,  and  for  no  other  purpose. 
Article  X.  All  troops  of  the  United  States 
shall  stand  ipso  facto  disbanded,  at  the  ex 
piration  of  the  term  for  which  their  pay  and 
subsistence  shall  have  been  last  voted  by 
Congress,  and  all  officers  and  soldiers,  not 
natives  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  incapa 
ble  of  serving  in  their  armies  by  land,  ex 
cept  during  a  foreign  war."  These  restric 
tions,  I  think,  are  so  guarded  as  to  hinder 
evil  only.  However,  if  we  do  not  have  them 
now,  I  have  so  much  confidence  in  my  coun 
trymen,  as  to  be  satisfied  that  we  shall  have 
them  as  soon  as  the  degeneracy  of  our  gov 
ernment  shall  render  them  necessary. — To 
JAMES  MADISON,  iii,  100.  FORD  ED.,  v,  112. 
(P.,  Aug.  1789.) 

821.  BILL  OF  RIGHTS,  The  Judiciary 
and. — In    the    arguments    in    favor    of    the 
declaration    of   rights,    you    omit   one    which 
has  great  weight  with  me:   the  legal  check 
which  it  puts  into  the  hands  of  the  judiciary. 
This  is  a  body  which,  if  rendered  independent 
and   kept   strictly   to   their   own   department, 
merits  great  confidence  for  their  learning  and 
integrity.    In  fact,  what  degree  of  confidence 
would  be  too  much  for  a  body  composed  of 
such  men  as   Wythe,   Blair  and   Pendleton? 
On  characters  like  these,  the  "  civium  ardor 
prava  jubentium"   would   make   no   impres 
sion.      I    am    happy    to    find    that,    on    the 
whole,  you  are  a  friend  to  this  amendment. 
The  declaration  of  rights  is,   like  all  other 
human   blessings,    alloyed   with   some   incon 
veniences,  and  not  accomplishing  fully  its  ob 
ject.    But  the  good  in  this  instance  vastly  out 
weighs  the  evil. — To  JAMES  MADISON,     iii,  3. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  80.    (P.,  March  1789.) 

822.  BILL    OF    BIGHTS,    The    People 
and. — A  bill  of  rights  is  what  the  people  are 
entitled  to  against  every  government  on  earth, 
general  or  particular;  and  what  no  just  gov 
ernment  should  refuse,  or  rest  on  inferences. 
— To  JAMES  MADISON,     ii,  330.     FORD  ED.,  iv, 
477-     (P-,  Dec.  1787.) 

823.  BILL  OF  BIGHTS,  Security  in.— 
A  general  concurrence  of  opinion  seems  to 
authorize  us  to  say  the  Constitution  has  some 
defects.     I  am  one  of  those  who  think  it  a  de 
fect  that  the  important  rights,  not  placed  in 
security  by  the  frame  of  the  Constitution  it 
self,  were  not  explicitly  secured  by  a  supple 
mentary  declaration.     There  are  rights  which 
it    is    useless    to    surrender    to    the    govern 
ment,   and   which   governments  have   yet  al 
ways  been   found  to  invade.     These  are  the 
riehts     of    thinking,     and     publishing     our 
thoughts  by  speaking  or  writing ;  the  right  of 
free   commerce;   the  right  of  personal   free 
dom.     There  are  instruments  for  administer 
ing    the    government    so    particularly    trust 
worthy,  that  we  should  never  leave  the  legis 


lature  at  liberty  to  change  them.  The  new 
Constitution  has  secured  these  in  the  Execu 
tive  and  Legislative  departments:  but  not  in 
the  Judiciary.  It  should  have  established 
trials  by  the  people  themselves,  that  is  to  say, 
by  jury.  There  are  instruments  so  dangerous 
to  the  rights  of  the  nation,  and  which  place 
them  so  totally  at  the  mercy  of  their  govern 
ors,  that  those  governors,  whether  legisla 
tive  or  executive,  should  be  restrained  from 
keeping  such  instruments  on  foot,  but  in  well 
defined  cases.  Such  an  instrument  is  a 
standing  army.  We  are  now  allowed  to  say 
such  a  declaration  of  rights,  as  a  supplement 
to  the  Constitution  where  that  is  silent,  is 
wanting,  to  secure  us  in  these  points.  The 
general  voice  has  legitimated  this  objection. — 
To  DAVID  HUMPHREYS,  iii,  12.  FORD  ED.,  v, 
89.  (P.,  March  1789.) 

824. .     I  am  one  of  those  who 

think  it  a  defect  [in  the  new  Constitution], 
that  the  important  rights,  not  placed  in  se 
curity  by  the  frame  of  the  Constitution  it 
self,  were  not  explicitly  secured  by  a  sup 
plementary  declaration  [of  rights]. — To  DA 
VID  HUMPHREYS,  iii,  12.  FORD  ED.,  v,  89. 
(P.,  March  1789.) 

825.  BILL  OF  BIGHTS,  Where  Nec 
essary. — I  cannot  refrain  from  making  short 
answers  to  the  objections  which  your  letter 
states  to  have  been  raised,  i.  That  the 
rights  in  question  are  reserved  by  the  man 
ner  in  which  the  Federal  powers  are  granted. 
Answer.  A  constitutive  act  may,  certainly. 
be  so  formed  as  to  need  no  declaration  of 
rights.  The  act  itself  has  the  force  of  a  dec 
laration  as  far  as  it  goes ;  and  if  it  goes  to 
all  material  points,  nothing  more  is  wanting. 
In  the  draft  ot  a  Constitution  which  I  had 
once  a  thought  of  proposing  in  Virginia,  I 
endeavored  to  reach  all  the  great  objects  of 
public  liberty,  and  did  not  mean  to  add  a 
declaration  of  rights.  Probably  the  object 
was  imperfectly  executed;  but  the  deficien 
cies  would  have  been  supplied  by  others,  in 
the  course  of  discussion.  But  in  a  constitu 
tive  act  which  leaves  some  precious  articles 
unnoticed,  and  raises  implications  against 
others,  a  declaration  of  rights  becomes  nec 
essary  by  way  of  supplement.  This  is  the 
case  of  our  new  Federal  Constitution.  This 
instrument  forms  us  into  one  State,  as  to 
certain  objects,  and  gives  us  a  legislative  and 
executive  body  for  these  objects.  It  should, 
therefore,  guard  against  their  abuses  of  power 
within  the  field  submitted  to  them.  2.  A 
positive  declaration  of  some  essential  rights 
could  not  be  obtained  in  the  requisite  lati 
tude.  Answer.  Half  a  loaf  is  better  than 
no  bread.  If  we  cannot  secure  all  our  rights, 
let  us  secure  what  we  can.  3.  The  limited 
powers  of  the  Federal  Government,  and  jeal 
ousy  of  the  subordinate  governments,  af 
ford  a  security  which  exists  in  no  other  in 
stance.  Answer.  The  first  member  of  this 
seems  resolvable  into  the  first  objection  be 
fore  stated.  The  jealousy  of  the  subordi 
nate  governments  is  a  precious  reliance.  But 
observe  that  these  governments  are  only 
agents.  They  must  have  principles  furnished 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bill  of  Bights 


them  whereon  to  found  their  opposition.  The 
declaration  of  rights  will  be  the  text,  whereby 
they  will  try  all  the  acts  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  In  this  view,  it  is  necessary  to  the 
Federal  Government  also,  as  by  the  same 
text,  they  may  try  the  opposition  of  the  sub 
ordinate  governments.  4.  Experience  proves 
the  inefficacy  of  a  Bill  of  Rights.  Answer. 
True.  But  though  it  is  not  absolutely  effica 
cious  under  all  circumstances,  it  is  of  great 
potency  always  and  rarely  inefficacious.  A 
brace  the  more  will  often  keep  up  the  build 
ing  which  would  have  fallen  with  that  brace 
the  less.  There  is  a  remarkable  difference 
between  the  characters  of  the  inconveniences 
which  attend  a  declaration  of  rights,  and 
those  which  attend  the  want  of  it.  The  in 
conveniences  of  the  declaration  are  that  it 
may  cramp  government  in  its  useful  exer 
tions.  But  the  evil  of  this  is  short-lived, 
moderate  and  reparable.  The  inconveniences 
of  the  want  of  a  declaration  are  permanent, 
afflicting  and  irreparable.  They  are  in  con 
stant  progression  from  bad  to  worse.  The 
executive,  in  our  governments,  is  not  the 
sole,  it  is  scarcely  the  principal,  object  of  my 
jealousy.  The  tyranny  of  the  legislatures  is 
the  most  formidable  dread  at  present,  and 
will  be  for  many  years.  That  of  the  executive 
will  come  in  its  turn;  but  it  will  be  at  a  re 
mote  period.  I  know  there  are  some  among 
us  who  would  now  establish  a  monarchy.  But 
they  are  inconsiderable  in  number  and  weight 
of  character.  The  rising  race  are  all  republi 
cans.  We  were  educated  in  royalism ;  no 
wonder  if  some  of  us  retain  that  idolatry 
still.  Our  young  people  are  educated  in  repub 
licanism;  an  apostasy  from  that  to  royalism 
is  unprecedented  and  impossible.  I  am  much 
pleased  with  the  prospect  that  a  declaration 
of  rights  will  be  added ;  and  I  hope  it  will  be 
done  in  that  way  which  will  not  endanger 
the  whole  frame  of  government,  or  any  essen 
tial  part  of  it. — To  JAMES  MADISON,  iii,  4. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  81.  (P.,  March  1789.) 

826.  BILL  OF  BIGHTS  (French),  Draft 

of. — i.  The  States  General  shall  assemble,  un 
called,  on  the  first  day  of  November,  annu 
ally,  and  shall  remain  together  so  long  as 
they  shall  see  cause.  They  shall  regulate 
their  own  elections  and  proceedings,  and  un 
til  they  shall  ordain  otherwise,  their  elec 
tions  shall  be  in  the  forms  observed  in  the 
present  year,  and  shall  be  triennial.  2..  The 
States  General  alone  shall  levy  money  on  the 
nation,  and  shall  appropriate  it.  3.  Laws 
shall  be  made  by  the  States  General  only, 
with  the  consent  of  the  King.  4.  No  person 
shall  be  restrained  of  his  liberty,  but  by  regu 
lar  process  from  a  court  of  justice,  author 
ized  by  a  general  law.  (Except  that  a  Noble 
may  be  imprisoned  by  order  of  a  -court  of 
justice,  on  the  prayer  of  twelve  of  his  nearest 
relations.)  On  complaint  of  an  unlawful  im 
prisonment,  to  any  judge  whatever,  he  shall 
have  the  prisoner  immediately  brought  before 
him,  and  shall  discharge  him,  if  his  imprison 
ment  be  unlawful.  The  officer  in  whose  cus 
tody  the  prisoner  is,  shall  obey  the  orders  of 
the  judge ;  and  both  judge  and  officer  shall  be 


responsible,  civilly  and  criminally,  for  a  fail 
ure  of  duty  herein.  5.  The  military  shall  be 
subordinate  to  the  civil  authority.  6.  Printers 
shall  be  liable  to  legal  prosecution  for  print 
ing  and  publishing  false  facts,  injurious  to 
the  party  prosecuting;  but  they  shall  be  un 
der  no  other  restraint.  7.  All  pecuniary  priv 
ileges  and  exemptions,  enjoyed  by  any  de 
scription  of  persons,  are  abolished.  8.  All 
debts  already  contracted  by  the  King,  are 
hereby  made  the  debts  of  the  nation;  and 
the  faith  thereof  is  pledged  for  their  payment 
in  due  time.  9.  Eighty  million  of  livres  are 
now  granted  to  the  King,  to  be  raised  by 
loan,  and  reimbursed  by  the  nation;  and  the 
taxes  heretofore  paid,  shall  continue  to  be 
paid  to  the  end  of  the  present  year,  and  no 
longer.  10.  The  States  General  shall  now 
separate,  and  meet  again  on  the  ist  day  of 
November  next.  Done,  on  behalf  of  the  whole 
nation,  by  the  King  and  their  representatives 

in  the  States  General,  at  Versailles,  this  

day  of  June,  1789.  Signed  by  the  King,  and 
by  every  member  individually,  and  in  his  pres 
ence.* — FRENCH  CHARTER  OF  RIGHTS,  iii,  47. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  101.  (P.,  June  1789.) 

827.  BILL  OF  BIGHTS  (French),  His 
tory  of.— After  you  [M.  de  St.  Etienne] 
quitted  us  yesterday  evening,  we  continued 
our  conversation  (Monsr  de  Lafayette,  Mr. 
Short  and  myself)  on  the  subject  of  the  dif 
ficulties  which  environ  you.  The  desirable 
object  being  to  secure  the  good  which  the 
King  has  offered  and  to  avoid  the  ill  which 
seems  to  threaten,  an  idea  was  suggested, 
which  appearing  to  make  an  impression  on 
Mons  de  Lafayette,  I  was  encouraged  to 
pursue  it  on  my  return  to  Paris,  to  put  it 
into  form,  and  now  to  send  it  to  you  and  him. 
It  is  this,  that  the  King,  in  a  seance  royale 
should  come  forward  with  a  Charter  of 
Rights  in  his  hand,  to  be  signed  by  himself, 
and  by  every  member  of  the  three  orders. 
This  Charter  to  contain  the  five  great  points 
which  the  Resultat  of  December  offered  on 
the  part  of  the  King,  the  abolition  of  pecu 
niary  privileges  offered  by  the  privileged  or 
ders,  and  the  adoption  of  the  national  debt, 
and  a  grant  of  the  sum  of  money  asked  from 
the  nation.  This  last  will  be  a  cheap  price  for 
the  preceding  articles,  and  let  the  same  act 
declare  your  immediate  separation  till  the 
next  anniversary  meeting.  You  will  carry 
back  to  your  constituents  more  good  than 
ever  was  effected  before  without  violence, 
and  you  will  stop  exactly  at  the  point  where 
violence  would  otherwise  begin.  Time  will 
be  gained,  the  public  mind  will  continue 
to  ripen  and  to  be  informed,  a  basis  of  sup 
port  may  be  prepared  with  the  people  them 
selves,  and  expedients  occur  for  gaining  still 
something  further  at  your  next  meeting,  and 
for  stopping  again  at  the  point  of  force.  I  have 
ventured  to  send  to  yourself  and  Monsieur 
de  Lafayette  a  sketch  of  my  ideas  of  what  this 
act  might  contain  without  endangering  any 
dispute.  But  it  is  offered  merely  as  a  canvas 

*This  paper  is  entitled  "A  Charter  of  Rights,  Sol 
emnly  established  by  the  King  and  Nation".— ED 
ITOR. 


Bill  of  Rights 
Birthday 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


for  you  to  work  on,  if  it  be  fit  to  work  on  at 
all.  I  know  too  little  of  the  subject,  and  you 
know  too  much  of  it  to  justify  me  in  offering 
anything  but  a  hint.  I  have  done  it  too  in  a 
hurry;  insomuch  that  since  committing  it  to 
writing  it  occurs  to  me  that  the  5th  article 
may  give  alarm,  that  it  is  in  a  good  degree 
included  in  the  4th,  and  is,  therefore,  useless. 
But,  after  all,  what  excuse  can  I  make,  Sir, 
for  this  presumption?  I  have  none  but  an 
unmeasurable  love  for  your  nation,  and  a 
painful  anxiety  lest  despotism,  after  an  unac 
cepted  offer  to  bind  its  own  hands,  should 
seize  you  again  with  tenfold  fury. — To  M.  DE 
ST.  ETIENNE.  FORD  ED.,  v,  99.  (P.,  June 
1789)  See  RIGHTS. 

-   BIMETALISM.— See      DOLLAR      and 
MONEY. 

828.  BI3STGHAM    (William),   Character 
of. — Though   Bingham   is  not  in   diplomatic 
office,  yet  as  he  wishes  to  be  so,  I  will  mention 
such  circumstances  of  him,  as  you  might  other 
wise  be  deceived  in.     He  will  make  you  believe 
he  was  on  the  most  intimate  footing  with  the 
first  characters   in   Europe,   and  versed   in   the 
secrets  of  every  cabinet.     Not  a  word  of  this 
is   true.     He   had   a   rage   for   being   presented 
to  great  men,  and  had  no  modesty  in  the  meth 
ods  by  which  he  could  if  he  attained  acquaint 
ance. — To  JAMES  MADISON,     ii,  108.     FORD  ED., 
iv,  366.     (P.,  1787.) 

829.  BIRDS,    Mocking-bird.— Teach    all 
the  children  to  venerate  the  mocking-bird  as  a 
superior  being  in  the  form  of  a  bird,  or  as  a 
being   which   will   haunt   them   if   any   harm   is 
done  to  itself  or  its  eggs.     I  shall  hope  that  the 
multiplication  of  the  cedar  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  round  the  house 
[Monticello]    will   attract   more   of   them ;     for 
they      like  to   be   in   the   neighborhood   of  our 
habitations  if  they  furnish  cover. — To  MARTHA 
JEFFERSON    RANDOLPH.     D.    L.    J.,    221.     (Pa., 
I/93-) 

830.  BIRDS,  Nightingale.— I  have  heard 
the  nightingale  in  all  its  perfection,  and  I   do 
not   hesitate   to   pronounce   that   in   America   it 
would  be  deemed  a  bird  of  the  third  rank  only, 
our  mocking-bird,  and  fox-colored  thrush  being 
unquestionably  superior  to  it. — To   MRS.  JOHN 
ADAMS.     FORD  ED.,  iv,  63.     (P.,  1785.) 

831. .     I  have  been  for  a  week 

past  sailing  on  the  canal  of  Languedoc,  cloud 
less  skies  above,  limpid  waters  below,  and  on 
each  hand  a  row  of  nightingales  in  full  chorus. 
This  delightful  bird  had  given  me  a  rich  treat 
before,  at  the  fountain  of  Vaucluse.  After  vis 
iting  the  tomb  of  Laura  at  Avignon,  I  went  to 
see  this  fountain — a  noble  one  of  itself,  and 
rendered  famous  forever  by  the  songs  of  Pe 
trarch,  who  lived  near  it.  I  arrived  there  some 
what  fatigued,  and  sat  down  by  the  fountain 
to  repose  myself.  It  gushes,  of  the  size  of  a 
river,  from  a  secluded  valley  of  the  mountains, 
the  ruins  of  Petrarch's  chateau  being  perched 
on  a  rock  two  hundred  feet  perpendicular 
above.  To  add  to  the  enchantment  of  the 
scene,  every  tree  and  bush  was  filled  with  night 
ingales  in  full  song.  I  think  you  told  me  that 
you  had  not  yet  noticed  this  bird.  As  you 
have  trees  in  the  garden  of  the  convent,  there 
might  be  nightingales  in  them,  and  this  is  the 
season  of  their  song.  Endeavor  to  make  your 
self  acquainted  with  the  music  of  this  bird, 
that  when  you  return  to  your  own  country, 
you  may  be  able  to  estimate  its  merit  in  com 
parison  with  that  of  the  mocking-bird.  The 
latter  has  the  advantage  of  singing  through  a 


great  part  of  the  year,  whereas  the  nightingale 
sings  about  five  or  six  weeks  in  the  spring,  and 
a  still  shorter  term,  and  with  a  more  feeble 
voice,  in  the  fall. — To  MARTHA  JEFFERSON. 
FORD  ED.,  iv,  388.  (1787.) 

832.  BIRDS,    Skylark.— There    are    two 
or  three  objects  which  you  should  endeavor  to 
enrich  our  country  with, — the  skylark,  the  red- 
legged   partridge.     I    despair  too   much   of   the 
nightingale   to    add   that. — To   JAMES    MONROE. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  21.     (M.,   1795.) 

833.  BIRDS,     Turkey.— I     suppose     the 
opinion   to   be   universal   that   the   turkey    is    a 
native  of  America.     Nobody,  as  far  as  I  know, 
has  ever  contradicted  it  but  Daines  Harrington  ; 
and   the    arguments    he   produces    are    such    as 
none  but  a  head,  entangled  and  kinked  as  his 
is,  would  ever  have  urged.     Before  the  discov 
ery    of    America,    no    such    bird    is    mentioned 
in    a   single   author,   all   those   quoted   by   Bar- 
rington,  by  description  referring  to  the  crane, 
hen,   pheasant,    or   peacock ;     but   the   book   of 
every    traveller,    who    came    to    America    soon 
after  its  discovery,   is   full   of  accounts  of  the 
turkey    and    its    abundance ;     and    immediately 
after  that  discovery  we  find  the  turkey  served 
up  at  the  feasts  of  Europe,   as  their  most  ex 
traordinary    rarity. — To    DR.    HUGH    WILLIAM 
SON,     iv,    346.     FORD   ED.,  vii,   480.     (W.,   Jan. 
1801.) 

834.  BIRDS,    The    Crested    Turkey.— I 
have  taken  measures  to  obtain  the  crested  tur 
key,  and  will  endeavor  to  perpetuate  that  beau 
tiful   and  singular  characteristic,   and   shall   be 
not  less  earnest  in  endeavors  to  raise  the  Mor- 
onnier. — To  M.  CORREA.    vii,  95.     (P.  F.,  1817.) 

835.  BIRDS,  The  Turkey  in  Heraldry. 
— Mr.  William  Strickland,  the  eldest  son  of 
St.    George    Strickland,    of    York,    in    England, 
told  me  this  anecdote  :      Some  ancestor  of  his 
commanded  a  vessel  in  the  navigations  of  Ca 
bot.     Having  occasion  to  consult  the  Herald's 
office  concerning  his  family,  he  found  a  petition 
from  that  ancestor  to  the  Crown,   stating  that 
Cabot's  circumstances  being  slender,  he  had  been 
rewarded  by  the  bounties,  he  needed  from  the 
Crown ;    that  as  to  himself,  he  asked  nothing  in 
that  way,   but  that  as   a   consideration   for   his 
services  in  the  same  way,  he  might  be  permitted 
to  assume  for  the  crest  of  his  family  arms,  the 
turkey,    an    American    bird ;     and    Mr.    Strick 
land    observed    that    their    crest    is    actually    a 
turkey. — To  DR.   HUGH   WILLIAMSON,     iv,  346. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  480.      (W.,  Jan.  1801.) 

836.  BIRTH,    Public    Office    and. — For 

promoting  the  public  happiness,  those  per 
sons,  whom  nature  has  endowed  with  genius 
and  virtue,  should  be  rendered  by  liberal 
education  worthy  to  receive,  and  able  to 
guard  the  sacred  deposit  of  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  their  fellow  citizens;  and  they 
should  be  called  to  that  charge  without  re 
gard  to  *  *  *  birth,  or  other  accidental 
condition  or  circumstance. — DIFFUSION  OF 
KNOWLEDGE  BILL.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  221.  (1779.) 

837.  BIRTHDAY,     Jefferson's.— Disap 
proving  myself  of  transferring  the  honors  and 
veneration  for  the  great  birthday  of  our  Re 
public  to  any  individual,  or  of  dividing  them 
with  individuals,  I  have  declined  letting  my 
own  birthday  be  known,  and  have  engaged 
mv  family  not  to  communicate  it.    This  has 
been  the   uniform   answer  to  every  applica 
tion  of  the  kind. — To  LEVI  LINCOLN",    iv,  504. 
FORD  ED.,  viii,  246.     (M.,  Aug.   1803.) 


93 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Birthday 
Bishop  (Samuel) 


838. .     The  only  birthday  which 

I  recognize  is  that  of  my  country's  liberties.* 
— RAYNER'S  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON,  p.  18. 

839.  BIRTHDAY,  Celebration  of  Wash 
ington's. — A  great  ball  is  to  be  given  here 
[Philadelphia]  on  the  22d,  and  in  other  great 
towns  of  the  Union.  This  is,  at  least,  very 
indelicate,  and  probably  excites  uneasy  sensa 
tions  in  some.  I  see  in  it,  however,  this  use 
ful  deduction,  that  the  birthdays,  which  have 
been  kept,  have  been,  not  those  of  the  Presi 
dent,  but  of  the  General. — To  JAMES  MADISON. 
iv,  212.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  203.  (Pa.,  Feb.  1798.) 


-.     The   late  birth-night  has 
tares     among     the     exclusive 


840. 

certainly     sown 

federalists.  It  has  winnowed  the  grain  from 
the  chaff.  The  sincerely  Adamites  did  not  go. 
The  Washingtonians  went  religiously,  and  took 
the  secession  of  the  others  in  high  dudgeon. 
The  one  sect  threaten  to  desert  the  levees,  the 
other  the  parties.  The  whigs  went  in  number, 
to  encourage  the  idea  that  the  birth-nights 
hitherto  kept  had  been  for  the  General  and  not 
the  President,  and  of  course  that  time  would 
bring  an  end  to  them. — To  JAMES  MADISON. 
iv,  218.  FORD  EDV  vii,  211.  (Pa.,  Feb.  1798.) 

841.  BISHOP  (Samuel),  Appointment 
as  Collector. — I  have  received  the  remon 
strance  you  were  pleased  to  address  to  me, 
on  the  appointment  of  Samuel  Bishop  to  the 
office  of  Collector  of  New  Haven,  lately  va 
cated  by  the  death  of  Daniel  Austin.  The 
right  of  our  fellow  citizens  to  represent  to  the 
public  functionaries  their  opinion  on  proceed 
ings  interesting  to  them,  is  unquestionably 
a  constitutional  right,  often  useful,  some 
times  necessary,  and  will  always  be  respect 
fully  acknowledged  by  me.  Of  the  various 
executive  duties,  no  one  excites  more  anx 
ious  concern  than  that  of  placing  the  inter 
ests  of  our  fellow  citizens  in  the  hands  of 
honest  men,  with  understandings  sufficient 
for  their  stations.  No  duty,  at  the  same  time, 
is  more  difficult  to  fulfil.  The  knowledge  of 
characters  possessed  by  a  single  individual 
is,  of  necessity,  limited.  To  seek  out  the 
best  through  the  whole  Union,  we  must  re 
sort  to  other  information,  which,  from  the 
best  of  men,  acting  disinterestedly  and  with 
the  purest  motives,  is  sometimes  incorrect. 
In  the  case  of  Samuel  Bishop,  however,  the 
subject  of  your  remonstrance,  time  was 
taken,  information  was  sought,  and  such  ob 
tained  as  could  leave  no  room  for  doubt  of 
his  fitness.  From  private  sources  it  was 
learned  that  his  understanding  was  sound. 
his  integrity  pure,  his  character  unstained. 
And  the  offices  confided  to  him  within  his 
own  State,  are  public  evidences  of  the  es 
timation  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  State 
in  general,  and  the  city  and  township  par 
ticularly  in  which  he  lives.  He  is  said  to 
be  the  town  clerk,  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
mayor  of  the  city  of  New  Haven,  an  office 
held  at  the  will  of  the  legislature,  chief  judge 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  New 
Haven  County,  a  court  of  high  criminal  and 

*  Jefferson  thought  he  discovered  in  the  birthday 
celebrations  of  particular  persons,  a  germ  of  aristo- 
cratical  distinction,  which  it  was  incumbent  upon  all 
such  persons,  by  a  timely  concert  of  example,  to 
crush  in  the  bud..— RAYNER'S  Life  of  Jefferson^  p.  17. 


civil  jurisdiction  wherein  most  causes  are  de 
cided  without  the  right  of  appeal  or  review, 
and  sole  judge  of  the  court  of  Probates, 
wherein  he  singly  decides  all  questions  of 
wills,  settlement  of  estates,  testate  and  in 
testate,  appoints  guardians,  settles  their  ac 
counts,  and  in  fact  has  under  his  jurisdiction 
and  care  all  the  property,  real  and  personal,  of 
persons  dying.  The  two  last  offices,  in  the 
annual  gift  of  the  legislature,  were  given  to 
him  in  May  last.  Is  it  possible  that  the  man 
to  whom  the  legislature  of  Connecticut  has 
so  recently  committed  trusts  of  such  diffi 
culty  and  magnitude,  is  "  unfit  to  be  the  col 
lector  of  the  district  of  New  Haven,"  though 
acknowledged  in  the  same  writing,  to  have 
obtained  all  this  confidence  "  by  a  long  life 
of  usefulness"?  It  is  objected,  indeed,  in 
the  remonstrance,  that  he  is  seventy-seven 
years  of  age ;  but  at  a  much  more  advanced 
age,  our  Franklin  was  the  ornament  of  hu 
man  nature.  He  may  not  be  able  to  perform 
in  person  all  the  details  of  his  office;  but  if 
he  gives  us  the  benefit  of  his  understanding, 
his  integrity,  his  watchfulness  and  takes 
care  that  all  the  details  are  well  per 
formed  by  himself  or  his  necessary  assist 
ants,  all  public  purposes  will  be  answered. 
The  remonstrance,  indeed,  does  not  allege 
that  the  office  has  been  illy  conducted,  but 
only  apprehends  that  it  will  be  so.  Should 
this  happen  in  event,  be  assured  I  will  do  in  it 
what  shall  be  just  and  necessary  for  the 
public  service.  In  the  meantime,  he  should 
be  tried  without  being  prejudged.— To  THE 
NEW  HAVEN  COMMITTEE,  iv,  402.  FORD  ED., 
viii,  67.  (W.,  July  1801.) 

842.  BISHOP  (Samuel),  Goodrich's  re 
moval  and. — The  removal,  as  it  is  called,  of 
Mr.  [Elizur]  Goodrich,  promises  another 
subject  of  complaint.  Declarations  by  my 
self  in  favor  of  political  tolerance,  exhorta 
tions  to  harmony  and  affection  in  social  in 
tercourse,  and  to  respect  for  the^equal  rights 
of  the  minority,  have,  on  certain  occasions, 
been  quoted  and  misconstrued  into  assur 
ances  that  the  tenure  of  offices  was  to  be  un 
disturbed.  But  could  candor  apply  such  a 
construction?  It  is  not,  indeed,  in  the  re 
monstrance  that  we  find  it;  but  it  leads  to 
the  explanations  which  that  calls  for.  When 
it  is  considered,  that  during  the  late  adminis 
tration,  those  who  were  not  of  a  particular 
sect  of  politics  were  excluded  from  all  office : 
when,  by  a  steady  pursuit  of  this  measure, 
nearly  the  whole  officers  of  the  United  States 
were  monopolized  by  that  sect;  when 
the  public  sentiment  at  length  declared  itself, 
and  burst  open  the  doors  of  honor  and  con 
fidence  to  those  whose  opinions  they  more 
approved,  was  it  to  be  imagined  that  this 
monopoly  of  office  was  still  to  be  continued 
in  the  hands  of  the  minority?  Does  it  vio 
late  their  equal  rights,  to  assert  some  rights 
in  the  majority  also?  Is  it  political  intoler 
ance  to  claim  a  proportionate  share  in  the 
direction  of  the  public  affairs?  Can  they 
not  harmonise  in  society  unless  they  have 
everything  in  their  own  hands?  If  the  will 
of  the  nation,  manifested  by  their  various 


Bishop  (Samuel) 
Bland  (Richard) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


94 


elections,  calls  for  an  administration  of  gov 
ernment  according  with  the  opinions  of  those 
elected;  if,  for  the  fulfilment  of  that  will, 
displacements  are  necessary,  with  whom  can 
they  so  justly  begin  as  with  persons  ap 
pointed  in  the  last  moments  of  an  adminis 
tration,  not  for  its  own  aid.  but  to  begin  a 
career  at  the  same  time  with  their  success 
ors,  by  whom  they  had  never  been  approved, 
and  who  could  scarcely  expect  from  them  a 
cordial  cooperation?  Mr.  Goodrich  was  one 
of  these.  Was  it  proper  for  him  to  place 
himself  in  office,  without  knowing  whether 
those  whose  agent  he  was  to  be  would  have 
confidence  in  his  agency?  Can  the  prefer 
ence  of  another,  as  the  successor  to  Mr. 
Austin,  be  candidly  called  a  removal  of  Mr. 
Goodrich?  If  a  due  participation  of  office 
is  a  matter  of  right,  how  are  vacancies  to  be 
obtained?  Those  by  death  are  few;  by  res 
ignation,  none.  Can  any  other  mode  than 
that  of  removal  be  proposed  ?  This  is  a  pain 
ful  office ;  but  it  is  made  my  duty,  and  I  meet 
it  as  such.  I  proceed  in  the  operation  with 
deliberation  and  inquiry,  that  it  may  injure 
the  best  men  least,  and  effect  the  purposes  of 
justice  and  public  utility  with  the  least  pri 
vate  distress ;  that  it  may  be  thrown,  as  much 
as  possible,  on  delinquency,  on  oppression, 
on  intolerance,  on  incompetence,  on  ante- 
revolutionary  adherence  to  our  enemies.  The 
remonstrance  laments  "  that  a  change  in  the 
administration  must  produce  a  change  in  the 
subordinate  officers,"  in  other  words,  that 
it  should  be  deemed  necessary  for  all  offi 
cers  to  think  with  their  principal?  But  on 
whom  does  this  imputation  bear?  On  those 
who  have  excluded  from  office  every  shade 
of  opinion  which  was  not  theirs?  Or  on 
those  who  have  been  so  excluded?  I  lament 
sincerely  that  unessential  differences  of  po 
litical  opinion  should  ever  have  been  deemed 
sufficient  to  interdict  half  the  society  from 
the  rights  and  blessings  of  self-government, 
to  proscribe  them  as  characters  unworthy  of 
every  trust.  It  would  have  been  to  me  a 
circumstance  of  great  relief,  had  I  found  a 
moderate  participation  of  office  in  the  hands 
of  the  majority.  I  would  gladly  have  left 
to  time  and  accident  to  raise  them  to  their 
just  share.  But  their  total  exclusion  calls 
for  prompter  correctives.  I  shall  correct  the 
procedure ;  but  that  done,  disdain  to  follow 
it,  shall  return  with  joy  to  that  state  of 
things,  when  the  only  questions  concerning 
a  candidate  shall  be:  Is  he  honest?  Is  he 
capable?  Is  he  faithful  to  the  Constitu 
tion? — To  THE  NEW  HAVEN  COMMITTEE,  iv, 
403.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  69.  (W.,  July  1801.) 

843.  BISHOP  (Samuel),  New  Haven 
Remonstrance  and. — Mr.  Goodrich' s  re 
moval  has  produced  a  bitter  remonstrance, 
with  much  personality  against  the  two  Bish 
ops.  I  am  sincerely  sorry  to  see  the  inflex 
ibility  of  the  federal  spirit  there,  for  I  cannot 
believe  they  are  all  monarchists. — To  LEVI 
LINCOLN,  iv,  399.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  67.  (W., 
July  1801.) 

844. .     Some  occasion  of  public 

explanation   was   eagerly   desired,    when   the 


New  Haven  remonstrance  offered  us  that  oc 
casion.  The  answer  was  meant  as  an  ex 
planation  to  our  triends.  It  has  had  ori 
them,  everywhere,  the  most  wholesome  effect. 
Appearances  of  schismatizing  from  us  have 
been  entirely  done  away.  I  own  I  expected 
it  would  check  the  current  with  which  the 
republican  federalists  were  returning  to  their 
brethren,  the  republicans.  I  extremely  la 
mented  this  effect ;  for  the  moment  which 
should  convince  me  that  a  healing  of  the  na 
tion  into  one  is  impracticable,  would  be  the 
last  moment  of  my  wishing  to  remain  where 
I  am. — To  LEVI  LINCOLN,  iv,  406.  FORD  ED., 
viii,  84.  (M.,  Aug.  1801.)  See  GOODRICH.  . 

845.  BLACKSTONE    (Sir    William), 
Commentaries. — The     exclusion     from    the 
courts  of  the  malign  influence  of  all  author 
ities  after  the  Georgium    Sidus  became  as 
cendant,       would      uncanonize      Blackstone, 
whose  book,  although  the  most  elegant  and 
best  digested  of  our  law  catalogue,  has  been 
perverted,   more  than  all   others,   to  the   de 
generacy  of  legal   science.     A  student  finds 
there   a    smattering   of   everything,    and    his 
indolence    easily    persuades    him    that    if    he 
understands  that  book,  he  is   master  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  law.     The  distinction  be 
tween  these,  and  those  who  have  drawn  their 
stores  from  the  deep  and  rich  mines  of  Coke 
on  Littleton,  seems  well  understood  even  by 
the    unlettered    common    people,    who    apply 
the   appellation    of     Blackstone     lawyers     to 
these  ephemeral  insects  of  the  law. — To  JUDGE 
TYLER,     vi,  66.     (M.,  1812.) 

846.  BLACKSTONE    (Sir    William), 

Toryism  of. — Blackstone  and  Hume  have 
made  tories  of  all  England,  and  are  making 
tories  of  those  young  Americans  whose  native 
feelings  of  independence  do  not  place  them 
above  the  wily  sophistries  of  a  Hume  or  a 
Blackstone.  These  two  books,  but  especially 
the  former,  have  done  more  towards  the 
suppression  of  the  liberties  of  man,  than  all 
the  million  of  men  in  arms  of  Bonaparte,  and 
the  millions  of  human  lives  with  the  sacrifice 
of  which  he  will  stand  loaded  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  his  Maker. — To  HORATIO  G. 
SPAFFORD.  vi,  335.  (M.,  1814.) 

847.  BLAND  (Richard),  Character  of.— 

Colonel  Richard  Bland  was  the  most  learned 
and  logical  man  of  those  who  took  prominent 
lead  in  public  affairs,  profound  in  constitu 
tional  lore,  a  most  ungraceful  speaker  (as  were 
Peyton  Randolph  and  Robinson,  in  a  remark 
able  degree.)  He  wrote  the  first  pamphlet  on 
the  nature  of  the  connection  with  Great  Brit 
ain  which  had  #ny  pretension  to  accuracy  of 
view  on  that  subject,  but  it  was  a  singular  one. 
He  would  set  out  on  sound  principles,  pursue 
them  Logically  till  he  found  them  leading  to  the 
precipice  which  he  had  to  leap,  start  back 
alarmed,  then  resume  his  ground,  go  over  it  in 
another  direction,  be  led  again  by  the  correct 
ness  of  his  reasoning  to  the  same  place,  and 
again  back  out,  and  try  other  processes  to 
reconcile  right  and  wrong,  but  finally  left  his 
reader  and  himself  bewildered  between  the 
steady  index  of  the  compass  in  their  hand,  and 
the  phantasm  to  which  it  seemed  to  point.  Still 
there  was  more  sound  matter  in  his  pamphlet 
than  in  the  celebrated  "  Farmer's  Letters," 


95 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Blockades 

|{.)llm,ni  (Eric) 


which  were  really  but  an  ignis  fatuus,  mislead 
ing  us  from  true  principles. — To  WILLIAM 
WIRT.  vi,  485.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  474.  (M.,  1815.) 

848.  BLOCKADES,  Law  of. —When  the 
fleet   of  any   nation   actually   beleaguers   the 
port  of  its  enemy,  no  other  has  a  right  to 
enter  their  line  any  more  than  their  line  of 
battle  in  the  open  sea,  or  their  lines  of  cir- 
cumvallation,  or  of  encampment,  or  of  battle 
array   on   land.     The   space   included   within 
their  lines  in  any  of  those  cases,  is  either  the 
property   of   their   enemy,    or   it   is   common 
property,  assumed  and  possessed  for  a  mo 
ment,  which  cannot  be  intruded  on,  even  by 
a  neutral,  without  committing  the  very  tres 
pass  we  are  now  considering,  that  of  intrud 
ing  into  the  lawful  possession  of  a  friend. — 
To  ROBERT   R.   LIVINGSTON,     iv,  410.     FORD 
ED.,  viii,  91.     (M.,  1801.) 

849.  BLOCKADES,      Neutrals      and.— 
When   two  nations   go  to   war,    it   does   not 
abridge  the  rights  of  neutral  nations  but  in 
the  two  articles  of  blockade  and  contraband 
of   war. — To   BENJAMIN    STODDERT.     v,   425. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  245.     (W.,  1809.) 

850.  BLOCKADES,  Seizure  of  Ships.— 
The   instruction    [to  commanders   of   British 
war  ships]    which  allows  the  armed  vessels 
of  Great  Britain  to  seize,  for  condemnation, 
all  vessels,  on  their  first  attempt  to  enter  a 
blockaded  port,  except  those  of  Denmark  and 
Sweden,  which  are  to  be  prevented  only,  but 
not   seized,   on   their   first   attempt.     Of   the 
nations  inhabiting  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  and  practising    its    navigation,    Den 
mark,  Sweden  and  the  United  States,  alone 
are   neutral.      To    declare,   then,    all    neutral 
vessels  (for  as  to  the  vessels  of  the  belliger 
ent  powers  no  order  was  necessary)    to  be 
legal   prize,  which   shall   attempt  to  enter  a 
blockaded   port,   except   those    of    Denmark 
and  Sweden,   is  exactly  to  declare   that  the 
vessels  of  the  United  States  shall  be  lawful 
prize,    and    those   of   Denmark   and    Sweden 
shall  not.     It  is  of  little  consequence  that  the 
article     has     avoided     naming     the     United 
States,    since  it  has   used   a   description   ap 
plicable  to  them,  and  to  them  alone,  while  it 
exempts    the    others    from    its   operation,    by 
name.     You   will   be  pleased   to  ask   an   ex 
planation   of  this   distinction ;    and   you   will 
be  able  to  say  in  discussing  its  justice,  that 
in  every  circumstance,  we  treat  Great  Brit 
ain  on  the  footing  of  the  most  favored  na 
tion,  where  our  treaties  do  not  preclude  us, 
and  that  even  these  are  just  as  favorable  to 
her  as  hers  are  to  us.     Possibly  she  may  be 
bound  by  treaty  to  admit  this  exception   in 
favor  of  Denmark  and  Sweden,  but  she  can 
not  be  bound  by  treaty  to  withhold  it  from  us  ; 
and    if    it    be    withheld    merely    because    not 
established    with    us   by    treaty,    what    might 
not  we,   on   the  same    ground,    have    with 
held    from    Great   Britain,    during   the    short 
course   of   the   present   war,    as   well    as   the 
peace  which  has  preceded  it  ? — To  THOMAS 
PINCKNEY.     iv,  62.     FORD  ED.,  vi,  416.     (Pa., 
Sept.  1793.) 

851. .     You  express  your  appre 
hension  that  some  of  the  belligerent  powers 


may  stop  our  vessels  going  with  grain  to  the 
ports  of  their  enemies,  and  ask  instructions 
which  may  meet  the  question  in  various 
points  of  view,  intending,  however,  in  the 
meantime  to  contend  for  the  amplest  freedom 
of  neutral  nations.  Your  intention  in  this 
is  perfectly  proper,  and  coincides  with  the 
ideas  of  our  own  government  in  the  particu 
lar  case  you  put,  as  in  general  cases.  Such  a 
stoppage  to  an  unblockaded  port  would  be 
so  unequivocal  an  infringement  of  the  neu 
tral  rights,  that  we  cannot  conceive  it  will  be 
attempted. — To  THOMAS  PINCKNEY.  iii,  551. 
FORD  ED.,  vi,  242.  (Pa.,  May  1793.) 

852.  BLOUNT     (William),     Impeach 
ment  of. — It  is  most  evident,  that  the  anti- 
republicans  wish  to  get  rid  of  Blpunt's  impeach 
ment.     Many  metaphysical  niceties  are  handing 
about  in  conversation,  to  show  that  it  cannot  be 
sustained.     To  show  the  contrary,  it  is  evident 
must  be  the  task  of  the  republicans,  or  of  no 
body. — To     JAMES     MADISON,     iv,     206.     FORD 
ED.,  vii,  190.     (Pa.,  Jan.  1798.)     See  IMPEACH 
MENT. 

853.  BOLINGBROKE,       Writings       of 

Lord. — Lord  Bolingbroke  and  Thomas  Paine 
were  alike  in  making  bitter  enemies  of  the 
priests  and  pharisees  of  their  day.  Both 
were  honest  men ;  both  advocates  for  human 
liberty.  Paine  wrote  for  a  country  which  per 
mitted  him  to  push  his  reasoning  to  whatever 
length  it  would  go.  Lord  Bolingbroke  in  one 
restrained  by  a  constitution,  and  by  public  opin 
ion.  He  was  called  indeed  a  tory ;  but  his 
writings  prove  him  a  stronger  advocate  for  lib 
erty  than  any  of  his  countrymen,  the  whigs  of 
the  present  day.  Irritated  by  his  exile,  he  com 
mitted  one  act  unworthy  of  him,  in  connecting 
himself  momentarily  with  a  prince  rejected  by 
his  country.  But  he  redeemed  that  single  act 
by  his  establishment  of  the  principles  which 
proved  it  to  be  wrong.  These  two  persons  dif 
fered  remarkably  in  the  style  of  their  writing, 
each  leaving  a  model  of  what  is  most  perfect 
in  both  extremes  of  the  simple  and  sublime. 
No  writer  has  exceeded  Paine  in  ease  and  fa 
miliarity  of  style,  in  perspicuity  of  expression, 
happiness  of  elucidation,  and  in  simple  and  un 
assuming  language.  In  this  he  may  be  com 
pared  with  Dr.  Franklin  ;  and  indeed  his  Com 
mon  Sense  was,  for  awhile,  believed  to  have 
been  written  by  Dr.  Franklin,  and  published 
under  the  borrowed  name  of  Paine,  who  had 
come  over  with  him  from  England.  Lord 
Bolingbroke's.  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  style  of 
the  highest  order.  The  lofty,  rythmical,  full- 
flowing  eloquence  of  Cicero ;  periods  of  just 
measure,  their  members  proportioned,  their 
close  full  and  round.  His  conceptions,  too,  are 
bold  and  strong,  his  diction  copious,  polished 
and  commanding  as  his  subject.  His  writings 
are  certainly  the  finest  samples  in  the  English 
language  of  the  eloquence  proper  for  the  sen 
ate.  His  political  tracts  are  safe  reading  for 
the  most  timid  religionist,  his  philosophical,  for 
those  who  are  not  afraid  to  trust  their  reason 
with  discussions  of  right  and  wrong. — To 
FRANCIS  EPPES.  vii,  197.  FORD  ED.,  x,  183. 
(M.,  1821.) 

854.  BOLLMAN    (Eric),    Burr    and.— I 

am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  Bollman  was  Burr's 
right  hand  man  in  all  his  guilty  schemes.  On 
being  brought  to  prison  here  [Washington],  he 
communicated  to  Mr.  Madison  and  myself  the 
whole  of  the  plans,  always,  however,  apolo 
getically  for  Burr,  as  far  as  they  would  bear. 
But  his  subsequent  tergiversations  have  proved 


Bollman  (Eric) 
Bouaparte  (N.) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


96 


him  conspicuously  base.  I  gave  him  a  pardon, 
however,  which  covers  him  from  everything  but 
infamy.  I  was  the  more  astonished  at  his  en 
gaging  in  this  business,  from  the  peculiar  mo 
tives  he  should  have  felt  for  fidelity.  When  I 
came  into  the  government,  I  sought  him  out  on 
account  of  the  services  he  had  rendered  you, 
cherished  him,  offered  him  two  different  ap 
pointments  of  value,  which,  after  keeping  them 
long  under  consideration,  he  declined  for  com 
mercial  views,  and  would  have  given  him  any 
thing  for  which  he  was  fit.  Be  assured  he  is 
unworthy  of  ever  occupying  again  the  care  of 
any  honest  man. — To  MARQUIS  DE  LAFAYETTE. 
v,  130.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  114.  (W.,  July  1807.) 

855.  BOLLMAN    (Eric),    Pardon    of.— 

Dr.  Bollman,  on  his  arrival  in  Washington  in 
custody  in  January,  voluntarily  offered  to  make 
communications  to  me,  which  he  accordingly 
did,  Mr.  Madison  also  being  present.  I  pre 
viously  and  subsequently  assured  him.  (without, 
however,  his  having  requested  it),  that  they 
should  never  be  used  against  himself.  Mr. 
Madison  on  the  same  evening  committed  to 
writing,  by  memory,  what  he  had  said ;  and 
I  moreover  asked  of  Bollman  to  do  it  himself, 
which  he  did,  and  I  now  enclose  it  to  you. 
The  object  is,  as  he  is  to  be  a  witness,  that 
you  may  know  how  to  examine  him,  and  draw 
everything  from  him.  I  wish  the  paper  to  be 
seen  and  known  only  to  yourself  and  the  gen 
tlemen  who  aid  you,  and  to  be  returned  to  me. 
If  he  should  prevaricate,  I  should  be  willing 
you  should  go  so  far  as  to  ask  him  whether  he 
did  not  say  so, and  so  to  Mr.  Madison  and  my 
self,  in  order  to  let  him  see  that  his  prevarica 
tions  will  be  marked.  Mr.  Madison  will  for 
ward  you  a  pardon  for  him,  which  we  mean 
should  be  delivered  previously.  It  is  suspected 
by  some  he  does  not  intend  to  appear.  If  he 
does  not,  I  hope  you  will  take  effectual  meas 
ures  to  have  him  immediately  taken  into  cus 
tody.  Some  other  blank  pardons  are  sent  on 
to  be  filled  up  at  your  discretion,  if  you  should 
find  a  defect  of  evidence,  and  believe  that  this 
would  supply  it,  *  *  *  avoiding  to  give 
them  to  the  gross  offenders,  unless  it  be  visi 
ble  that  the  principal  will  otherwise  escape. — 
To  GEORGE  HAY.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  52.  (W.,  May 
1807.) 

856.  BONAPARTE  (Jerome),  Marriage 

of. — A  report  reaches  us  from  Baltimore, 
*  *  *  that  Mr.  Jerome  Bonaparte,  brother 
of  the  First  Consul,  is  married  to  Miss  Patter 
son,  of  that  city.  The  effect  of  this  measure 
on  the  mind  of  the  First  Consul,  is  not  for  me 
to  suppose ;  but  as  it  might  occur  to  him, 
prima  facie,  that  the  Executive  of  the  United 
States  ought  to  have  prevented  it,  I  have 
thought  it  advisable  to  mention  the  subject  to 
you,  that,  if  necessary,  you  may  by  explana 
tion  set  that  idea  to  rights.  You  know  that  by 
our  laws,  all  persons  are  free  to  enter  into 
marriage,  if  of  twenty-one  years  of  age,  no  one 
having  a  power  to  restrain  it,  not  even  their 
parents ;  and  that  under  that  age,  no  one  can 
prevent  it  but  the  parent  or  guardian.  The 
lady  is  under  age,  and  the  parents,  placed  be 
tween  her  affections,  which  were  strongly  fixed, 
and  the  considerations  opposing  the  measure, 
yielded  with  pain  and  anxiety  to  the  former. 
Mr.  Patterson  is  the  President  of  the  Bank 
of  Baltimore,  the  wealthiest  man  in  Maryland, 
perhaps  in  the  United  States,  except  Mr.  Car 
roll  ;  a  man  of  great  virtue  and  respectability  ; 
the  mother  is  the  sister  of  the  lady  of  General 
Samuel  Smith ;  and,  consequently,  the  station 
of  the  family  in  society  is  with  the  first  of 
the  United  States.  These  circumstances  fix 


rank  in  a  country  where  there  are  no  heredi 
tary  titles. — To  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON,  iv, 
510.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  277.  (W.,  Nov.  1803.) 

857.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Brutuses  for. 

— If  Bonaparte  declares  for  royalty,  either  in 
his  own  person,  or  for  Louis  XVIII.,  he  has 
but  a  few  days  to  live.  In  a  nation  of  so 
much  enthusiasm,  there  must  be  a  million  of 
Brutuses  who  will  devote  themselves  to  de 
stroy  him. — To  HENRY  INNES.  iv,  315.  FORD 
EDV  vii,  412.  (Pa.,  Jan.  1800.) 

858. .     Had  the  consuls  been  put 

to  death  in  the  first  tumult,  and  before  the 
nation  had  time  to  take  sides,  the  Directory 
and  Councils  might  have  reestablished 
themselves  on  the  spot.  But  that  not  being 
done,  perhaps  it  is  now  to  be  wished  that 
Bonaparte  may  be  spared,  as,  according  to 
his  protestations,  he  is  for  liberty,  equality 
and  representative  government,  and  he  is 
more  able  to  keep  the  nation  together,  and 
to  ride  out  the  storm  than  any  other.  Per 
haps  it  may  end  in  their  establishing  a  single 
representative,  and  that  in  his  person.  I 
hope  it  will  not  be  for  life,  for  fear  of  the  in 
fluence  of  the  example  on  our  countrymen. 
It  is  very  material  for  the  latter  to  be  made 
sensible  that  their  own  character  and  situa 
tion  are  materially  different  from  the  French  ; 
and  that  whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  republi 
canism  there,  we  are  able  to  preserve  it  in 
violate  here. — To  JOHN  BRECKENRIDGE.  FORD 
ED.,  vii,  418.  (Pa.,  Jan.  1800.) 

859.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    Cromwell, 

Washington  and. — My  confidence  has  been 
placed  in  the  head,  not  in  the  heart  of  Bona 
parte.  I  hoped  he  would  calculate  truly  the 
difference  between  the  fame  of  a  Washington 
and  a  Cromwell. — To  SAMUEL  ADAMS,  iv, 
321.  FORD  EDV  vii,  425.  (Pa.,  Feb.  1800.) 

860.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Detested.— No 

man  on  earth  has  stronger  detestation  than 
myself  of  the  unprincipled  tyrant  who  is  del 
uging  the  continent  of  Europe  with  blood. 
No  one  was  more  gratified  by  his  disasters  of 
the  last  compaign.* — To  DR.  GEORGE  LOGAN. 
vi,  216.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  423.  (M.,  Oct.  1813.) 

861.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Embargo  and. 

— The  explanation  of  his  principles  given  you 
by  the  French  Emperor,  in  conversation,  is 
correct  as  far  as  it  goes.  He  does  not  wish 
us  to  go  to  war  with  England,  knowing  we 
have  no  ships  to  carry  on  that  war.  To  sub 
mit  to  pay  to  England  the  tribute  on  our  com 
merce  which  she  demands  by  her  orders  of 
council,  would  be  to  aid  her  in  the  war 
against  him,  and  would  give  him  just  ground 
to  declare  war  with  us.  He,  concludes,  there- 

*  This  extract  got  into  the  newspapers  contrary  to 
Jefferson's  wishes,  and  led  to  a  long  interruption  of 
the  correspondence  between  him  and  Dr.  Logan.  At 
length,  in  1816,  he  wrote  to  Logan,  complaining  of 
the  publication,  and  said:  "  this  [extract]  produced 
to  me  more  complaints  from  my  best  friends  and 
called  for  more  explanations  than  any  transaction  of 
my  life  had  ever  done.  They  inferred  from  this  par 
tial  extract  an  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  Eng 
land,  which  yet  the  same  letter  censured  with  equal 
rigor.  It  prodticed,  too,  from  the  minister  of  Bona 
parte  a  complaint,  not  indeed  formal,  for  I  was  but  a 
private  citizen,  but  serious,  of  my  volunteering  with 
England  in  the  abuse  of  his  sovereign."— EDITOR. 


Thomas  Jefferson 

Age  about  J 


'rom  the  painting  by  Charles  Wilson  IValo  hanging  in 


Hall,  Philadelphia. 


[2] 


97 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bonaparte  (N.) 


fore,  as  every  rational  man  must,  that  the 
Embargo,  the  only  remaining  alternative,  was 
a  wise  measure.  These  are  acknowledged 
principles,  and  should  circumstances  arise 
which  may  offer  advantage  to  our  country  in 
making  them  public,  we  shall  avail  ourselves 
of  them.  But  as  it  is  not  usual  nor  agreeable 
to  governments  to  bring  their  conversations 
before  the  public,  I  think  it  would  be  well  to 
consider  this  on  your  part  as  confidential, 
leaving  to  the  government  to  retain  or  make 
it  public,  as  the  general  good  may  require. 
Had  the  Emperor  gone  further,  and  said  that 
he  condemned  our  vessels  going  voluntarily 
into  his  ports  in  breach  of  his  municipal  laws, 
we  might  have  admitted  it  rigorously  legal, 
though  not  friendly.  But  his  condemnation 
of  vessels  taken  on  high  seas,  by  his  pri 
vateers  and  carried  involuntarily  _  into  his 
ports,  is  justifiable  by  no  law;  is  piracy,  and 
this  is  the  wrong  we  complain  of  against 
him.— To  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON,  v,  370. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  209.  (W.,  Oct.  1808.) 

862.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  England  and. 

— To  complete  and  universalize  the  desola 
tion  of  the  globe,  it  has  been  the  will  of  Provi 
dence  to  raise  up,  at  the  same  time,  a  tyrant 
as  unprincipled  and  as  overwhelming,  for 
the  ocean.  Not  in  the  poor  maniac  George, 
but  in  his  government  and  nation.  Bonaparte 
will  die,  and  his  tyrannies  with  him.  But  a 
nation  never  dies.  The  English  government, 
and  its  piratical  principles  and  practices,  have 
no  fixed  term  of  duration.  Europe  feels,  and 
is  writhing  under  the  scorpion  whips  of  Bona 
parte.  We  are  assailed  by  those  of  England. 
The  one  continent  thus  placed  under  the  gripe 
of  England,  and  the  other  of  Bonaparte,  each 
has  to  grapple  with  the  enemy  immediately 
pressing  on  itself.  We  must  extinguish  the 
fire  kindled  in  our  own  house,  and  leave  to 
our  friends  beyond  the  water  that  which  is 
consuming  theirs. — To  MADAME  DE  STAEL. 
vi,  115.  (M.,  May  1813.) 

863.  BONAPARTE   (N.),  Execrated.— I 

know  nothing  which  can  so  severely  try  the 
heart  and  spirit  of  man,  and  especially  of  the 
man  of  science,  as  the  necessity  of  a  passive 
acquiescence  under  the  abominations  of  an 
unprincipled  tyrant  who  is  deluging  the  earth 
with  blood  to  acquire  for  himself  the  reputa 
tion  of  a  Cartouche  or  a  Robin  Hood.  The 
petty  larcenies  of  the  Blackbeards  and  Buc 
caneers  of  the  ocean,  the  more  immediately 
exercised  on  us,  are  dirty  and  grovelling 
things  addressed  to  our  contempt,  while  the 
horrors  excited  by  the  Scelerat  of  France  are 
beyond  all  human  execrations. — To  DR.  MOR- 
RELL.  vi,  100.  (M.,  Feb.  1813.) 

864.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  A  Great  Scoun 
drel. — Bonaparte  was  a  lion  in  the  field  only. 
In  civil  life,  a  cold-blooded,  calculating,  un 
principled    usurper,    without     a     virtue ;     no 
statesman,   knowing   nothing    of    commerce, 
political   economy,  or  civil  government,   and 
supplying  ignorance  by  bold  presumption.     I 
had  supposed  him  a  great  man  until  his  en 
trance    into    the    Assembly    des    cinq    cens. 


eighteen  Brumaire  (an.  8.)  From  that  date, 
however,  I  set  him  down  as  a  great  scoundrel 
only. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  352.  FORD  ED., 
ix,  461.  (M.,  July  1814.) 

865.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Hatred  of 
United  States. — Bonaparte  hates  our  gov 
ernment  because  it  is  a  living  libel  on  his. — 
To  WILLIAM  DUANE.  v,  553.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
287.  (M.,  1810.) 

866. .     Bonaparte's  hatred  of  us 

is  only  a  little  less  than  that  he  bears  to  Eng 
land,  and  England  to  us.  Our  form  of  govern 
ment  is  odious  to  him,  as  a  standing  contrast 
between  republican  and  despotic  rule ;  and  as 
much  from  that  hatred,  as  from  ignorance  in 
political  economy,  he  had  excluded  inter 
course  between  us  and  his  people,  by  pro 
hibiting  the  only  articles  they  wanted  from 
us,  cotton  and  tobacco. — To  THOMAS  LEIPER. 
vi,  464.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  520.  (M.,  June  1815.) 

867. .  It  is  not  possible  Bona 
parte  should  love  us;  and  of  that  our  com 
merce  had  sufficient  proof  during  his  power. 
Our  military  achievements,  indeed,  which  he 
is  capable  of  estimating,  may  in  some  degree, 
moderate  the  effect  of  his  aversions;  and  he 
may,  perhaps,  fancy  that  we  are  to  become  the 
natural  enemies  of  England,  as  England  her 
self  has  so  steadily  endeavored  to  make  us, 
and  as  some  of  our  own  over-zealous  patriots 
would  be  willing  to  proclaim;  and  in  this 
view,  he  may  admit  a  cold  toleration  of 
some  intercourse  and  commerce  between  the 
two  nations.  He  has  certainly  had  time  to  see 
the  folly  of  turning  the  industry  of  France 
from  the  cultures  for  which  nature  has  so 
highly  endowed  her,  to  those  of  sugar,  cotton, 
tobacco,  and  others,  which  the  same  creative 
power  has  given  to  other  climates;  and,  on 
the  whole,  if  he  can  conquer  the  passions  of 
his  tyrannical  soul,  if  he  has  understanding 
enough  to  pursue  from  motives  of  interest, 
what  no  moral  motives  lead  him  to,  the  tran 
quil  happiness  and  prosperity  of  his  country, 
rather  than  a  ravenous  thirst  for  human 
blood,  his  return  may  become  of  more  advan 
tage  than  injury  to  us. — To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
vi,  458  (M.,  June  1815.) 

868.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    Havoc   by.— 

A  conqueror  roaming  over  the  earth  with 
havoc  and  destruction. — To  DR.  WALTER 
JONES,  v,  511.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  274.  (M.,  1810.) 

869.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  His  Ideas  on 

Government.— Should  it  be  really  true  that 
Bonaparte  has  usurped  the  government  with 
an  intention  of  making  it  a  free  one,  whatever 
his  talents  may  be  for  war,  we  have  no  proofs 
that  he  is  skilled  in  forming  governments 
friendly  to  the  people.  Wherever  he  has 
meddled,  we  have  seen  nothing  but  fragments 
of  the  old  Roman  government  stuck  into  ma 
terials  with  which  they  can  form  no  cohesion. 
We  see  the  bigotry  of  an  Italian  to  the  ancient 
splendor  of  his  country,  but  nothing  which 
bespeaks  a  luminous  view  of  the  organization 
of  rational  provernment.  Perhaps,  however, 
this  may  end  better  than  we  augur;  and  it 
certainly  will,  if  his  head  is  equal  to  true  and 


Bonaparte  (N.) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


solid  calculations  of  glory. — To  T.  M.  RAN 
DOLPH,  iv,  319.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  422.  (Pa., 
Feb.  1800.) 

870.  BONAPARTE   (N.),  Human  Mis 
ery  and.— Bonaparte  has  been  the  author  of 
more  misery  and  suffering  to  the  world,  than 
any  being  who  ever  lived  before  him.     After 
destroying  the  liberties  of  his  country,  he  has 
exhausted  all  its  resources,  physical  and  mor 
al,  to  indulge  his  own  maniac  ambition,  his 
own  tyrannical  and  overbearing  spirit.     His 
sufferings  cannot  be  too  great. — To  ALBERT 
GALLATIN.  vi,  499.    (M.,  Oct.  1815.) 

871.  BONAPARTE   (N.),  Ignorance  of 
Commerce. — Of   the    principles   and    advan 
tages  of  commerce,  Bonaparte  appears  to  be 
ignorant. — To  JOEL  BARLOW,     v,  601.     (M., 
1812.) 

872.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    Imprison 
ment  of. — The  Attila  of  the  age  dethroned, 
the  ruthless  destroyer  of  ten  millions  of  the 
human  race,  whose  thirst  for  blood  appeared 
unquenchable,   the    great    oppressor    of    the 
rights   and   liberties    of   the   world,    shut   up 
within  the  circle  of  a  little  island  of  the  Med 
iterranean,  and  dwindled  to  the  condition  of 
an   humble   and   degraded   pensioner   on   the 
bounty  of  those  he  had  most  injured.     How 
miserable,    how    meanly,    has    he   closed   his 
inflated  career !    What  a  sample  of  the  bathos 
will  his  history  present !    He  should  have  per 
ished  on  the  swords  of  his  enemies,  under  the 
walls  of  Paris. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,    vi,  352. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  461.     (M.,  July  1814.) 

873.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    Invasion    of 
U.    S.    by.— The    fear    that    Bonaparte    will 
come  over  and  conquer  us  also,  is  too  chimer 
ical  to  be  genuine.     Supposing  him  to  have 
finished  Spain  and  Portugal,  he  has  yet  Eng 
land  and  Russia  to  subdue.     The  maxim  of 
war  was  never  sounder  than  in  this  case,  not 
to  leave  an  enemy  in  the  rear;  and  especially 
where  an  insurrectionary  flame  is  known  to 
be  under  the  embers,  merely  smothered,  and 
ready  to  burst  at  every  point.     These  two 
subdued  (and  surely  the  Anglomen  will  not 
think  the  conquest  of  England  alone  a  short 
work),   ancient   Greece  and   Macedonia,   the 
cradle  of  Alexander,  his  prototype,  and  Con 
stantinople,  the  seat  of  empire  for  the  world, 
would  glitter  more  in  his  eye  than  our  bleak 
mountains  and  rugged  forests.     Egypt,  too, 
and  the  golden  apples  of  Mauritania,  have  for 
more  than  half  a  century  fixed  the  longing 
eyes  of  France;  and  with  Syria,  you  know, 
he  has  an  old  affront  to  wipe  out.    Then  come 
"  Pontus  and  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Aeolia  and 
Bithynia,"    the    fine    countries    on    the    Eu 
phrates  and  Tigris,  the  Oxus  and  Indus,  and 
all  beyond  the   Hypasis,  which  bounded  the 
glories  of  his  Macedonian  rival ;  with  the  in 
vitations  of  his  new  British  subjects  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges,  whom,  after  receiving 
under  his  protection  the  mother  country,  he 
cannot  refuse  to  visit.     When  all  this  is  done 
and  settled,  and  nothing  of  the  old  world  re 
mains  unsubdued,  he  may  turn  to  the  new 
one.     But  will  he  attack  us  first,  from  whom 
he  will  get  but  hard  knocks  and  no  money? 


Or  will  he  first  lay  hold  of  the  gold  and  silver 
of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  the  diamonds  of 
Brazil  ?  A  republican  emperor,  from  his  af 
fection  to  republics,  independent  of  motives 
of  expediency,  must  grant  to  ourselves  the 
Cyclop's  boon  of  being  the  last  devoured. 
While  all  this  is  doing,  are  we  to  suppose  the 
chapter  of  accidents  read  out,  and  that  noth 
ing  can  happen  to  cut  short  or  disturb  his 
enterprises? — To  JOHN  LANGDON.  v,  512. 
(M.,  March  1810.) 

874.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Louisiana 
and. — I  assured  M.  Pichon  [French  Minis 
ter]  that  I  had  more  confidence  in  the  word 
of  the  First  Consul  than  in  all  the  parchment 
we  could  sign. — To  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON. 
iv,  511.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  278.  (W.,  Nov.  1803.) 

875. .  Your  emperor  has  done 

more  splendid  things,  but  he  has  never  done 
one  which  will  give  happiness  to  so  great  a 
number  of  human  beings  as  the  ceding  of 
Louisiana  to  the  United  States.* — To  MAR 
QUIS  DE  LAFAYETTE.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  67.  (W., 
May  1807.)  See  LOUISIANA. 

876.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    No    Moral 
Sense. — O'Meara's  book  proves  that  nature 
had  denied  Bonaparte  the  moral  sense,  the  first 
excellence  of  well  organized  man.   If  he  could 
seriously  and  repeatedly  affirm  that  he  had 
raised  himself  to  power  without  ever  having 
committed  a  crime,  it  proves  that  he  wanted 
totally  the  sense  of  right  and  wrong.    If  he 
could   consider  the  millions  of  human  lives 
which  he  had  destroyed,  or  caused  to  be  de 
stroyed,  the  desolations  of  countries  by  plun- 
derings,  burnings  and  famine,  the  destitutions 
of  lawful    rulers  of  the  world  without  the 
consent   of   their   constituents,    to   place   his 
brothers  and  sisters  on  their  thrones,  the  cut 
ting  up  of  established  societies  of  men  and 
jumbling  them  discordantly  together  again  at 
his  caprice,  the  demolition  of  the  fairest  hopes 
of  mankind  for  the  recovery  of  their  rights 
and  amelioration  of  their  condition,  and  all 
the  numberless  train  of  his  other  enormities ; 
the  man  I  say,  who  could  consider  all  these 
as  no  crimes,  must  have  been  a  moral  mon 
ster,  against  whom  every  hand  should  have 
been  lifted  to  slay  him. — To  JOHN  ADAMS. 
vii,  275.     (M.,  1823.) 

877.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Peace    and.— 
Bonaparte's  restless  spirit  leaves  no  hope  of 
peace    to    the   world. — To   THOMAS   LEIPER. 
vi,  464.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  520.     (M.,  1815.) 

878.  BONAPARTE     (N.),     Policy     to 
ward  United  States.— As  to   Bonaparte,   I 
should  not  doubt  the  revocation  of  his  edicts, 
were  he  governed  by  reason.     But  his  policy 
is    so    crooked    that    it    eludes    conjecture. 
1    fear   his   first   object   now    is   to    dry   up 
the   sources    of    British    prosperity    by    ex 
cluding   her    manufactures     from    the    con 
tinent.       He     may     fear    that    opening    the 
ports  of  Europe  to  our  vessels  will  open  them 
to  an  inundation  of  British  wares.    He  ought 

*  This  accession  of  territory  strengthens  forever 
the  power  of  the  United  States,  and  I  have  just  given 
to  England  a  maritime  rival  that  will  sooner  or  later 
humble  her  pride.— NAPOLEON. 


99 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bonaparte  (N.) 


to  be  satisfied  with  having  forced  her  to  re 
voke  the  orders  [in  council]  on  which  he 
pretended  to  retaliate,  and  to  be  particularly 
satisfied  with  us,  by  whose  unyielding  ad 
herence  to  principle  she  has  been  forced  into 
the  revocation.  He  ought  the  more  to  con 
ciliate  our  good  will,  as  we  can  be  such  an 
obstacle  to  the  new  career  opening  on  him 
in  the  Spanish  Colonies.  That  he  would  give 
us  the  Floridas  to  withhold  intercourse  with 
the  residue  of  those  colonies,  cannot  be 
doubted.  But  that  is  no  price ;  because  they 
are  ours  in  the  first  moment  of  the  first  war ; 
and  until  a  war  they  are  of  no  particular  ne 
cessity  to  us.  But,  although  with  difficulty, 
he  will  consent  to  our  receiving  Cuba  into 
our  Union,  to  prevent  our  aid  to  Mexico  and 
the  other  provinces.  That  would  be  a  price, 
and  I  would  immediately  erect  a  column  on 
the  southernmost  limit  of  Cuba,  and  inscribe 
on  it  a  ne  plus  ultra  as  to  us  in  that  direction. 
We  should  then  only  have  to  include  the 
North  in  our  Confederacy,  which  would  be  of 
course  in  the  first  war,  and  we  should  have 
such  an  empire  for  liberty  as  she  has  never 
surveyed  since  the  creation ;  and  I  am  per 
suaded  no  Constitution  was  ever  before  so 
well  calculated  as  ours  for  extensive  empire 
and  self-government. — To  PRESIDENT  MAD 
ISON,  v,  444.  (M.,  April  1809.) 

879.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Political  Wick 
edness  of. — I  view  Bonaparte  as  a  political 
engine  only,  and  a  very  wicked  one ;  you,  I 
believe,   as  both  political   and  religious,   and 
obeying,  as  an  instrument,  an  Unseen  Hand. 
I   still   deprecate  his  becoming  sole  lord  of 
the   continent   of    Europe,    which   he    would 
have  been,   had  he  reached   in  triumph  the 
gates  of  St.   Petersburg.     The  establishment 
in  our  day  of  another  Roman  Empire,  spread 
ing  vassalage  and  depravity  over  the  face  of 
the  globe,  is  not,  I  hope,  within  the  purposes 
of   Heaven.— To   THOMAS   LEIPER.     vi,   463. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  519.    (M.,  June  1815.) 

880.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Promises  of.— 

Promises  cost  him  nothing  when  they  could 
serve  his  purpose.  On  his  return  from  Elba, 
what  did  he  not  promise?  But  those  who  had 
credited  them  a  little,  soon  saw  their  total  in 
significance,  and,  satisfied  that  they  could 
not  fall  under  worse  hands,  refused  every  ef 
fort  after  the  defeat  of  Waterloo.— To  BEN 
JAMIN  AUSTIN,  vi,  554.  FORD  ED.,  x,  n. 
(M.,  1816.) 

881.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    Republicans 
and. — Here  you  will  find  rejoicings  on  the 
[restoration]  of  Bonaparte,  and  by  a  strange 
quid  pro  quo,  not  by  the  party  hostile  to  lib 
erty,  but  by  its  zealous  friends.  In  this  they 
see  nothing  but  the  scourge  reproduced  for 
the  back  of  England.     They  do  not  permit 
themselves  to   see  in   it  the  blast  of  all   the 
hopes  of  mankind,  and  that  however  it  may 
jeopardize  England,   it  gives  to  her  self-de 
fence  the  lying  countenance   again  of  being 
the  sole  champion  of  the  rights  of  man,  to 
which  in  all  other  nations   she  is  most  ad 
verse. —  To  M.   DUPONT  DE  NEMOURS,     vi, 
457-     (M.,  May  1815.) 


882.  --  .     I  have  grieved  to  see  even 
good  republicans  so  infatuated  as  to  this  man, 
as  to  consider  his  downfall  as  calamitous  to 
the   cause   of   liberty.     In    their    indignation 
against  England  which  is  just,  they  seem  to 
consider  all  her  enemies  as  our  friends,  when 
it  is  well  known  there  was  not  a  being  on 
earth  who  bore  us  so  deadly  a  hatred.  *  *  * 
To   whine   after   this   exorcised   demon   is   a 
disgrace  to  republicans,  and  must  have  arisen 
either  from  want  of  reflection,  or  the  indul 
gence  of  passion  against  principle.  —  To  BEN 
JAMIN    AUSTIN,    vi,   553.     FORD    ED.,  x,   n. 
(M.,  Feb.  1816.) 

883.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Restoration  of. 
—  You   despair  of  your   country,   and   so   do 
I.    A  military  despotism  is  now  fixed  upon  it 
permanently,  especially  if  the  son  of  the  ty 
rant  should  have  virtues  and  talents.     What 
a  treat  it  would  be  to  me,  to  be  with  you,  and 
to  learn  from  you  all  the  intrigues,  apostacies 
and  treacheries  which  have  produced  this  last 
death's  blow  to  the  hopes  of  France.    For,  al 
though  not  in  the  will,  there  was  in  the  im 
becility    of    the    Bourbons    a    foundation    of 
hope  that  the  patriots  of  France  might  obtain 
a  moderate    representative    government.  —  To 
M.  DUPONT  DE  NEMOURS,    vi,  457.     (M.,  May 


884.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Rights  of  Na 
tions    and.—  The    new    treaty   of   the    allied 
powers  declares  that  the  French  nation  shall 
not   have    Bonaparte,    and    shall    have    Louis 
XVIII.  for  their  ruler.     They  are  all  then  as 
great  rascals  as  Bonaparte  himself.    While  he 
was  in  the  wrong,  I  wished  him  exactly  as 
much  success  as  would  answer  our  purposes, 
and  no  more.     Now  that  they  are    in    the 
wrong  and  he  in  the  right,  he  shall  have  all 
my  prayers  for  success,  and  that  he  may  de 
throne  every  man    of    them.  —  To    THOMAS 
LEIPER.     vi,  467.     FORD  ED.,    ix,    522.      (M., 
June  1815.) 

885.  --  .     As  far  as  we  can  judge 
from   appearances,   Bonaparte,   from  being  a 
mere  military  usurper,  seems  to  have  become 
the  choice  of  his  nation  ;    and  the  allies  in 
their  turn,  the  usurpers  and  spoliators  of  the 
European   world.     The   rights   of  nations  to 
self-government  being  my  polar  star,  my  par 
tialities    are    steered    by    it,    without    asking 
whether  it  is  a  Bonaparte  or  an  Alexander 
towards  whom  the  helm  is  directed.  —  To  M. 
CORREA.    vi,  480.     (M.,  June  1815.) 

886.  --  .     No    man    more    severely 
condemned  Bonaparte  than  myself  during  his 
former  career,  for  his  unprincipled  enterprises 
on  the  liberty  of  his  own  country,   and  the 
independence  of  others.     But  the  allies  hav 
ing  now  taken   up  his   pursuits,   and  he  ar 
rayed  himself  on  the  legitimate  side,  I  also 
am  changed  as  to  him.     He  is  now  fighting 
for  the  independence  of  nations,  of  which  his 
whole  life  hitherto  had  been  a  continued  viola 
tion,  and  he  has  now  my  prayers  as  sincerely 
for  success  as  he  had  before  for  his  over 
throw.   He  has  promised  a  free  government  to 
his  own  country,  and  to  respect  the  rights  of 
others  ;  and  although  his  former  conduct  does 


Bonaparte  (N.) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


100 


not  inspire  entire  faith  in  his  promises ;  yet 
we  had  better  take  the  chance  of  his  word  for 
doing  right  than  the  certainty  of  the  wrong 
which  his  adversaries  avow. — To  PHILLIP 
MAZZEI.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  525.  (M.,  Aug.  1815.) 

887. .     At  length  Bonaparte  has 

got  on  the  right  side  of  a  question.  From 
the  time  of  his  entering  the  legislative  hall  to 
his  retreat  to  Elba,  no  man  has  execrated  him 
more  than  myself.  I  will  not  except  even  the 
members  of  the  Essex  Junto;  although  for 
very  different  reasons ;  I,  because  he  was  war 
ring  against  the  liberty  of  his  own  country, 
and  independence  of  others ;  they,  because  he 
was  the  enemy  of  England,  the  Pope  and  the 
Inquisition.  But  at  length,  and  as  far  as  we 
can  judge,  he  seems  to  have  become  the  choice 
of  his  nation.  At  least,  he  is  defending  the 
cause  of  his  nation,  and  that  of  all  mankind, 
the  rights  of  every  people  to  independence 
and  self-government.  He  and  the  allies  have 
now  changed  sides.  They  are  parcelling  out 
among  themselves,  Poland,  Belgium,  Saxony, 
Italy,  dictating  a  ruler  and  government  to 
France,  and  looking  askance  at  our  republic, 
the  splendid  libel  on  their  governments,  and 
he  is  fighting  for  the  principles  of  national 
independence  of  which  his  whole  life  hitherto 
has  been  a  continued  violation.  He  has 
promised  a  free  government  to  his  own  coun 
try,  and  to  respect  the  rights  of  others ;  and 
although  his  former  conduct  inspires  little 
confidence  in  his  promises,  yet  we  had  better 
take  the  chance  of  his  word  for  doing  right, 
than  the  certainty  of  the  wrong  which  his  ad 
versaries  are  doing  and  avowing.  If  they 
succeed  ours  is  only  the  boon  of  the  Cyclops 
to  Ulysses,  of  being  the  last  devoured.* — To 
JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  490.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  529. 
(M.,  Aug.  1815.) 

888.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Robespierre 
and. — Robespierre  met  the  fate,  and  his 
memory  the  execration,  he  so  justly  merited. 
The  rich  were  his  victims,  and  perished  by 
thousands.  It  is  by  millions  that  Bonaparte 
destroys  the  poor,  and  he  is  eulogized  and 
deified  by  the  sycophants  even  of  science. 
These  merit  more  than  the  mere  oblivion  to 
which  they  will  be  consigned :  and  the  day 
will  come  when  a  just  posterity  will  give 
to  their  hero  the  only  preeminence  he  has 
earned,  that  of  having  been  the  greatest  of 
the  destroyers  of  the  human  race.  What  year 
of  his  military  life  has  not  consigned  a  million 
of  human  beings  to  death,  to  poverty  and 
wretchedness  !  What  field  in  Europe  may  not 
raise  a  monument  of  the  murders,  the  burn 
ings,  the  desolations,  the  famines,  and  mis 
eries  it  has  witnessed  from  him?  And  all 

*  To  the  letter  from  which  this  extract  is  taken  Jef 
ferson  appended  a  postscript  as  follows  :  "  I  had  fin 
ished  my  letter  yesterday  and  this  morning'  (Aug. 
n),  received  the  news  of  Bonaparte's  second  abdica 
tion.  Very  well.  For  him,  personally,  I  have  no 
feeling  but  reprobation.  The  representatives  of  the 
nations  have  deposed  him.  They  have  taken  the 
allies  at  their  word,  that  they  had  no  object  in  the 
war  but  his  removal.  The  nation  is  now  free  to  give 
itself  a  good  government,  either  with  or  without  a 
Bourbon  ;  and  France,  unsubdued,  will  still  be  a  bri 
dle  on  the  enterprises  of  the  combined  powers,  and  a 
bulwark  to  others.  "—EDITOR. 


this  to  acquire  a  reputation,  which  Cartouche 
attained  with  less  injury  to  mankind,  of  being 
fearless  of  God  or  man. — To  MADAME  DE 
STAEL.  vi,  114.  (M.,  May  1813.) 

889.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Self-govern 
ment  and.— I  see  in  Bonaparte's  expulsion 
of  the  Bourbons,  a  valuable  lesson  to  the 
world,  as  showing  that  its  ancient  dynasties 
may  be  changed  for  their  misrule.  Should 
the  allied  powers  presume  to  dictate  a  ruler 
and  government  to  France,  and  follow  the 
example  he  had  set  of  parcelling  and  usurping 
to  themselves  their  neighbor  nations,  I  hope 
he  will  give  them  another  lesson  in  vindica 
tion  of  the  rights  of  independence  and  self- 
government,  which  himself  had  hitherto  so 
much  abused,  and  that  in  this  contest  he  will 
wear  down  the  maritime  power  of  England 
to  limitable  and  safe  dimensions.  So  far, 
good.  It  cannot  be  denied,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  his  successful  perversion  of  the  force 
(committed  to  him  for  vindicating  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  his  country)  to  usurp  its  gov 
ernment,  and  to  enchain  it  under  an  hered 
itary  despotism,  is  of  baneful  effect  in  en 
couraging  future  usurpations,  and  deterring 
those  under  oppression  from  rising  to  redress 
themselves. — To  THOMAS  LEIPER.  vi,  464. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  519.  (M.,  1815.) 

890. .     If  adversity  should  have 

taught  him  wisdom,  of  which  I  have  little 
expectation,  he  may  yet  render  some  service 
to  mankind,  by  teaching  the  ancient  dynasties 
that  they  can  be  changed  for  misrule,  and 
by  wearing  down  the  maritime  power  of  Eng 
land  to  limitable  and  safe  dimensions. — To 
JOHN  ADAMS,  vi,  458.  (M.,  June  1815.) 

891.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Selfishness  of. 

—Bonaparte  saw  nothing  in  this  world  but 
himself,  and  looked  on  the  people  under  him 
as  his  cattle,  beasts  for  burthen  and  slaughter. 
— To  BENJAMIN  AUSTIN,  vi,  553.  FORD  ED., 
x,  ii.  (M.,  1816.) 

892.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Statesmanship 
o*-— I  have  just  finished  reading  O'Meara's 
Bonaparte.       It    places     him     in     a     higher 
scale  of  understanding  than   I  had  allotted 
him.     I  had  thought  him  the  greatest  of  all 
military   captains,   but   an   indifferent   states 
man,  and  misled  by  unworthy  passions.     The 
flashes,  however,  which  escaped  from  him  in 
these  conversations  with   O'Meara,   prove  a 
mind  of  great  expansion,  although  not  of  dis 
tinct  development  and  reasoning.     He  seizes 
results    with    rapidity    and    penetration,    but 
never    explains    logically    the    processes    of 
reasoning  by  which  he  arrives  at  them.— To 
JOHN  ADAMS,     vii,  275.      (M.,   1823.) 

893.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Sufferings  of. 

— O'Meara's  Bonaparte  makes  us  forget  his 
atrocities  ^ for  a  moment,  in  commiseration  of 
his  sufferings.  I  will  not  say  that  the  author 
ities  of  the  world,  charged  with  the  care  of 
their  country  and  people,  had  not  a  right  to 
confine  him  for  life,  as  a  lion  or  a  tiger,  on 
the  principle  of  self-preservation.  There  was 
no  safety  to  nations  while  he  was  permitted 
to  roam  at  large.  But  the  putting  him  to 


101 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Bonaparte  (N.) 


death  in  cold  blood,  by  lingering  tortures-  or 
mind,  by  vexations,  insults,  and  deprivations, 
was  a  degree  of  inhumanity  to  which  the 
poisonings  and  assassinations  of  the  school  of 
Borgia  and  the  den  of  Marat  never  attained. 
— To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vii,  275.  (M.,  1823.) 

894.  BONAPARTE   (N.),   Temper  of.— 

Bonaparte's  domineering  temper  deafens  him 
to  the  dictates  of  interest,  of  honor,  and  of 
morality. — To  JOEL  BARLOW,  v,  601.  (M., 
1811.) 

895.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  Tyranny  of.— 
A     ruthless     tyrant,     drenching     Europe    in 
blood  to  obtain  through  future  time  the  char 
acter    of    the    destroyer    of    mankind. — To 
HENRY  MIDDLETON.    vi,  91.     (M.,  Jan.  1813.) 

896. .  That  Bonaparte  is  an  un 
principled  tyrant,  who  is  deluging  the  con 
tinent  of  Europe  with  blood,  there  is  not  a 
human  being,  not  even  the  wife  of  his  bosom 
who  does  not  see. — To  THOMAS  LEIPER.  vi, 
283.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  445.  (M..  Jan.  1814.) 

897.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  United  States 
and. — Considering  the  character  of  Bona 
parte,  I  think  it  material  at  once  to  let  him 
see  that  we  are  not  of  the  powers  who  will 
receive  his  orders.— To  JAMES  MADISON,  iv, 
585.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  377.  (M.,  Aug.  1805.) 

898. .     I    never    expected   to   be 

under  the  necessity  of  wishing  success  to 
Bonaparte.  But  the  English  being  equally  ty 
rannical  at  sea  as  he  is  on  land,  and  that^  tyr 
anny  bearing  on  us  in  every  point  of  either 
honor  or  interest,  I  say,  "  down  with  Eng 
land,"  and  as  for  what  Bonaparte  is  then  to 
do  to  us,  let  us  trust  to  the  chapter  of  acci 
dents.  I  cannot,  with  the  Anglomen,  prefer 
a  certain  present  evil  to  a  future  hypothetical 
one.— To  THOMAS  LEIPER.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  130. 
(M.,  Aug.  i8#.) 

899. .  Although  we  neither  ex 
pected,  nor  wished  any  act  of  friendship  from 
Bonaparte,  and  always  detested  him  as  a 
tyrant,  yet  he  gave  employment  to  much  of 
the  force  of  the  nation  who  was  our  common 
enemy.  So  far,  his  downfall  was  illy  timed 
for  us;  it  gave  to  England  an  opportunity 
to  turn  full-handed  on  us,  when  we  were  un 
prepared.  No  matter,  we  can  beat  her  on  our 
own  soil,  leaving  the  laws  of  the  ocean  to  be 
settled  by  the  maritime  powers  of  Europe, 
who  are  equally  oppressed  and  insulted  by  the 
usurpations  of  England  on  that  element. — To 
W  H  CRAWFORD,  vi,  418.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  502. 
(M..  Feb.  1815.) 

900.  BONAPARTE  (N.),  United  States, 
Russia  and. — There  cannot,  I  think,  be  a 
doubt  as  to  the  line  we  wish  drawn  between 
Bonaparte's  successes  and  those  of  Alexan 
der.  Surely  none  of  us  wish  to  see  Bonaparte 
conquer  Russia,  and  lay  thus  at  his  feet  the 
whole  continent  of  Europe.  This  done.  Eng 
land  would  be  but  a  breakfast :  and  although 
I  am  free  from  the  visionary  fears  which  the 
votaries  of  England  have  affected  to  entertain, 
because  I  believe  he  cannot  effect  the  conquest 
of  Europe ;  yet  put  all  Europe  into  his  hands, 


and  he  might  spare  such  a  force,  to  be  sent 
in  British  ships,  as  I  would  as  lief  not  have 
to  encounter,  when  I  see  how  much  trouble  a 
handful  of  soldiers  in  Canada  has  given  us. 
No.  It  cannot  be  to  our  interest  that  all 
Europe  should  be  reduced  to  a  single  mon 
archy.  The  true  line  of  interest  for  us,  is, 
that  Bonaparte  should  be  able  to  effect  the 
complete  exclusion  of  England  from  the  whole 
continent  of  Europe,  in  order,  bv  this  peace 
able  engine  of  constraint  to  make  her  re 
nounce  her  views  of  dominion  over  the  ocean, 
of  permitting  no  other  nation  to  navigate  it 
but  with  her  license,  and  on  tribute  to  her, 
and  her  aggressions  on  the  persons  of  our 
citizens  who  may  choose  to  exercise  their 
right  of  passing  over  that  element.  And  this 
would  be  effected  by  Bonaparte  succeeding 
so  far  as  to  close  the  Baltic  against  her.  This 
success  I  wished  him  the  last  year,  this  I  wish 
him  this  year;  but  were  he  again  advanced 
to  Moscow,  I  should  again  wish  him  such 
disasters  as  would  prevent  his  reaching  St. 
Petersburg.  And  were  the  consequences  even 
to  be  the  longer  continuance  of  our  war,  I 
would  rather  meet  them  than  see  the  whole 
force  of  Europe  wielded  by  a  single  hand. — 
To  THOMAS  LIEPER.  vi,  283.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
445-  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

901. .  I  have  gone  into  this  ex 
planation  *  *  *  because  I  am  willing  to 
trust  to  your  discretion  the  explaining  me 
to  our  honest  fellow  laborers,  and  the  bring 
ing  them  to  pause  and  reflect,  if  any  of  them 
have  not  sufficiently  reflected  on  the  extent 
of  the  success  we  ought  to  wish  to  Bona 
parte,  with  a  view  to  our  own  interests  only; 
and  even  were  we  not  men,  to  whom  nothing 
human  should  be  indifferent.  But  is  our  par 
ticular  interest  to  make  us  insensible  to  all 
sentiments  of  morality?  Is  it  then  become 
criminal,  the  moral  wish  that  the  torrents 
of  blood  this  man  is  shedding  in  Europe,  the 
sufferings  of  so  many  human  beings,  good  as 
ourselves,  on  whose  necks  he  is  trampling, 
the  burnings  of  ancient  cities,  devastations  of 
great  countries,  the  destruction  of  law  and 
order,  and  demoralization  of  the  world, 
should  be  arrested,  even  if  it  should  place  our 
peace  a  little  further  distant?  No.  You  and 
I  cannot  differ  in  wishing  that  Russia,  and 
Sweden,  and  Denmark,  and  Germany,  and 
Spain,  and  Portugal,  and  Italy,  and  even 
England,  may  retain  their  independence. — 
To  THOMAS  LEIPER.  vi,  283.  FORD  ED.,  ix, 
446.  (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

902.  -  — .     It  is  cruel  that  we  should 
have  been  forced  to  wish  any  success  to  such 
a   destroyer  of  the  human   race.     Yet  while 
it  was  our  interest  and  that  of  humanity  that 
he  should  not  subdue  Russia,   and  thus  lay 
all  Europe  at  his  feet,  it  was  desirable  to  us 
that  he  should  so  far  succeed  as  to  close  the 
Baltic  to  our  enemy,  and  force  him,  by  the 
pressure  of  internal  distress,  into  a  disposition 
to  return  to  the  paths  of  justice  towards  us. — 
To  JOHN  CLARKE,    vi,  308.     (M.,  Jan.  1814.) 

903.  BONAPARTE    (N.),    Vanquished. 

— The    unprincipled    tyrant    of    the    land    is 


Bonaparte  (N.) 
Books,  l>uty  on 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


IO2 


fallen,  his  power  reduced  to  its  original  noth 
ingness,  his  person  only  not  yet  in  the  mad 
house,  where  it  ought  always  to  have  been. — 
To  CESAR  A.  RODNEY,  vi,  448.  (M.,  1815.) 

004. .  On  the  general  scale  of 

nations,  the  greatest  wonder  is  Napoleon  at 
St.  Helena;  and  yet  it  would  have  been  well 
for  the  lives  and  happiness  of  millions  and 
millions,  had  he  been  deposited  there  twenty 
years  ago.  France  would  now  have  a  free 
government,  unstained  by  the  enormities  she 
has  enabled  him  to  commit  on  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  unprostrated  by  the  vindictive 
hand,  human  or  divine,  now  so  heavily  bear 
ing  upon  her.— To  MRS.  TRIST.  D.  L.  J.  363. 
(P.  F.,  April  1816.) 

905. .  What  is  infinitely  inter 
esting  [in  the  letters  you  enclosed  to  me],  is 
the  scene  of  the  exchange  of  Louis  XVIII.  for 
Bonaparte.  What  lessons  of  wisdom  Mr. 
[John  Quincy]  Adams  must  have  read  in  that 
short  space  of  time!  More  than  fall  to  the 
lot  of  others  in  the  course  of  a  long  life.  Man, 
and  the  man  of  Paris,  under  those  circum 
stances,  must  have  been  a  subject  of  profound 
speculation !  It  would  be  a  singular  addition 
to  that  spectacle  to  see  the  same  beast  in  the 
cage  at  St.  Helena,  like  a  lion  in  the  tower. 
That  is  probably  the  closing  verse  of  the  chap 
ter  of  his  crimes.— To  MRS.  JOHN  ADAMS. 
vii,  52.  FORD  ED.,  x,  69.  (M.,  1817.) 

906. .    Had  Bonaparte  reflected 

that  such  is  the  moral  construction  of  the 
world,  that  no  national  crime  passes  unpun 
ished  in  the  long  run,  he  would  not  now  be 
in  the  cage  of  St.  Helena.— M.  DE  MARBOIS. 
vii,  76.  (M.,  1817.)  See  FRANCE. 

907.  BOOKS  AS  CAPITAL.— Some  few 
years  ago  when  the  tariff  was   before    Con 
gress,   I  engaged  some  of  our  members  of 
Congress   to   endeavor  to   get   the   duty  re 
pealed,   and   wrote  on  the   subject  to   some 
other  acquaintances  in  Congress,  and  press- 
ingly  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.    The 
effort  *  *  *  failed.  *  *  *  There  is  a  consid 
eration  going  to  the  injustice  of  the  tax  * 
Books  constitute  capital.    A  library  book  lasts 
as  long  as  a  house,  for  hundreds  of  years. 
It  is  not,  then,  an  article  of  mere  consump 
tion  but  fairly  of  capital,  and  often  in  the  case 
of  professional  men,  settiner  out  in  life,  it  is 
their  only  capital.     Now  there  is  no  other 
form  of  capital  which  is  first  taxed  18  per 
cent,  on  the  gross,  and  the  proprietor  then 
left  to  pay  the  same  taxes    in    detail    with 
others  whose  capital  has  paid  no  tax  on  the 
gross.     Nor  is  there  a  description  of  men  less 
proper  to  be  singled  out  for  extra  taxation. — 
To  JAMES  MADISON.    FORD  ED.,  x,  194.     (M., 
Sep.  1821.) 

908.  BOOKS,  Censorship  of.— I  am  mor 
tified  to  be  told  that.,  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  the  sale  of  a  book*  can  become  a 
subject  of  inquiry,   and  of  criminal   inquiry 
too,   as   an  offence   against   religion;   that   a 

*  A  work  in  French  by  M.  De  Becourt  entitled 
"  Sur  la  Creation  du  Monde,  un  Systeme  d'Organisa- 
tion  Primitive".— EDITOR. 


question  like  this  can  be  carried  before  the 
civil  magistrate.  Is  this  then  our  freedom  of 
religion?  And  are  we  to  have  a  censor 
whose  imprimatur  shall  say  what  books  may 
be  sold,  and  what  we  may  buy?  And  who 
is  thus  to  dogmatize  religious  opinions  for 
our  citizens?  Whose  foot  is  to  be  the  meas 
ure  to  which  ours  are  all  to  be  cut  or 
stretched?  Is  a  priest  to  be  our  inquisitor,  or 
shall  a  layman,  simple  as  ourselves,  set  up 
his  reason  as  the  rule  for  what  we  are  to  read, 
and  what  we  must  believe?  It  is  an  insult  to 
our  citizens  to  question  whether  they  are 
rational  beings  or  not,  and  blasphemy  against 
religion  to  suppose  it  cannot  stand  the  test 
of  truth  and  reason.  If  M.  de  Becourt's  book 
be  false  in  its  facts,  disprove  them;  if  false 
in  its  reasoning,  refute  it.  But,  for  God's 
sake,  let  us  freely  hear  both  sides,  if  we 
choose.  I  know  little  of  its  contents,  having 
barely  glanced  over  here  and  there  a  passage, 
and  over  the  table  of  contents.  From  this, 
the  Newtonian  philosophy  seemed  the  chief 
object  of  attack,  the  issue  of  which  might  be 
trusted  to  the  strength  of  the  two  combat 
ants  ;  Newton  certainly  not  needing  the  aux 
iliary  arm  of  the  government,  and  still  less 
the  Holy  Author  of  our  religion,  as  to  what 
in  it  concerns  Him.  I  thought  the  work 
would  be  very  innocent,  and  one  which  might 
be  confided  to  the  reason  of  any  man ;  not 
likely  to  be  much  read  if  let  alone,  but,  if 
persecuted,  it  will  be  generally  read.  Every 
man  in  the  United  States  will  think  it  a  duty 
to  buy  a  copy,  in  vindication  of  his  right  to 
buy.  and  to  read  what  he  pleases. — To  M. 
DUFIEF.  vi,  340.  (M.,  1814.) 

909. .     I  have  been  just  reading 

the  new  constitution  of  Spain.  One  of  its 
fundamental  bases  is  expressed  in  these 
words :  "  The  Roman  Catholic  religion,  the 
only  true  one,  is,  and  always  shall  be,  that 
of  the  Spanish  nation.  The  government  pro 
tects  it  by  wise  and  just  laws,  and  prohibits 
the  exercise  of  any  other  whatever."  Now  I 
wish  this  presented  to  those  who  question 
what  you  may  sell,*  or  we  may  buy  with  a  re 
quest  to  strike  out  the  words,  "  Roman  Cath 
olic,"  and  to  insert  the  denomination  of 
their  own  religion.  This  would  ascertain  the 
code  of  dogmas  which  each  wishes  should 
domineer  over  the  opinions  of  all  others,  and 
be  taken,  like  the  Spanish  religion,  under 
the  "  protection  of  wise  and  just  laws."  It 
would  show  to  what  they  wish  to  reduce  the 
liberty  for  which  one  generation  has  sacri 
ficed  life  and  happiness.  It  would  present 
our  boasted  freedom  of  religion  as  a  thing  of 
theory  only,  and  not  of  practice,  as  what 
would  be  a  poor  exchange  for  the  theoretic 
thraldom,  but  practical  freedom  of  Europe. — 
To  M.  DUFIEF.  vi,  340.  (M.,  1814.) 

910.  BOOKS,  Duty  on.— To  prohibit  us 
from  the  benefit  of  foreign  light,  is  to  con 
sign  us  to  a  long  darkness. — To 

vii,  221.     (M.,  1821.) 

911. .     I  hope  a  crusade  will  be 

kept  up  against  the  duty  on  books  until  those 
*  M.  Dufief  was  a  Philadelphia  bookseller.— EDITOR. 


103 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Books 


in  power  shall  become  sensible  of  this  stain 
on  our  legislation,  and  shall  wipe  it  from  their 
code,  and  from  the  remembrance  of  man,  if 
possible.— To  JARED  SPARKS,  vii,  335.  FORD 
ED.,  x,  293.  (M.,  1824.) 

912. .     I  hear  nothing  definitive 

of  the  three  thousand  dollars  duty  [on  books 
for  the  University  of  Virginia]  of  which  we 
are  asking  the  remission  from  Congress. — To 
JAMES  MADISON,  vii,  433.  FORD  ED.,  x,  376. 
(M.,  1826.) 

913. .     The   government    of   the 

United  States,  at  a  very  early  period,  when 
establishing  its  tariff  on  foreign  importations, 
were  very  much  guided  in  their  selection  of 
objects  by  a  desire  to  encourage  manufac 
tures  within  ourselves.  Among  other  ar 
ticles  then  selected  were  books,  on  the  im 
portation  of  which  a  duty  of  fifteen  per  cent, 
was  imposed,  which,  by  ordinary  custom 
house  charges,  amounts  to  about  eighteen  per 
cent.,  and  adding  the  importing  booksellers' 
profit  on  this,  becomes  about  twenty-seven 
per  cent.  This  was  useful  at  first,  perhaps, 
towards  exciting  our  printers  to  make  a  be 
ginning  in  that  business  here.  But  it  is  found 
in  experience  that  the  home  demand  is  not 
sufficient  to  justify  the  reprinting  any  but  the 
most  popular  English  works,  and  cheap 
editions  of  a  few  of  the  classics  for  schools. 
For  the  editions  of  value,  enriched  by  notes, 
commentaries,  &c.,  and  for  books  in  foreign 
living  languages,  the  demand  here  is  too  small 
and  sparse  to  re-imburse  the  expense  of  re 
printing  them.  None  of  these,  therefore,  are 
printed  here,  and  the  duty  on  them  becomes 
consequently  not  a  protecting,  but  really  a 
prohibitory  one.  It  makes  a  very  serious  ad 
dition  to  the  price  of  the  book  and  falls 
chiefly  on  a  description  of  persons  little  able 
to  meet  it.  Students  who  are  destined  for 
professional  callings,  as  most  of  our  scholars 
are,  are  barely  able  for  the  most  part  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  tuition.  The  addition 
of  eighteen  or  twenty-seven  per  cent,  on  the 
books  necessary  for  their  instruction,  amounts 
often  to  a  prohibition  as  to  them.  For  want 
of  these  aids,  which  are  open  to  the  students 
of  all  other  nations  but  our  own,  they  enter 
on  their  course  on  a  very  unequal  footing 
with  those  of  the  same  professions  in  foreign 
countries,  and  our  citizens  at  large,  too.  who 
employ  them,  do  not  derive  from  that  em 
ployment  all  the  benefit  which  higher  qualifi 
cations  would  give  them.  It  is  true  that  no 
duty  is  required  on  books  imported  for  sem 
inaries  of  learning,  but  these,  locked  up  in  li 
braries,  can  be  of  no  avail  to  the  practical 
man  when  he  wishes  a  recurrence  to  them  for 
the  uses  of  life.  Of  many  important  books  of 
reference  there  is  not  perhans  a  single  copy 
in  the  United  States;  of  others  but  a  few, 
and  these  too  distant  often  to  be  accessible 
to  scholars  generally.  It  is  believed,  there 
fore,  that  if  the  attention  of  Congress  could 
be  drawn  to  this  article,  they  would,  in  their 
wisdom,  see  its  impolicy.  Science  is  more 
important  in  a  republican  than  in  any  other 
government.  And  in  an  infant  country  like 
ours,  we  must  much  depend  for  improvement 


on  the  science  of  other  countries,  longer  es 
tablished,  possessing  better  means,  and  more 
advanced  than  we  are.  To  prohibit  us  from 
the  benefit  of  foreign  light,  is  to  consign  us  to 
long  darkness.  The  northern  seminaries  fol 
lowing  with  parental  solicitude  the  interest  of 
their  elcves  in  the  course  for  which  they  have 
prepared  them,  propose  to  petition  Congress 
on  this  subject,  and  wish  for  the  cooperation 
of  those  of  the  south  and  west,  and  I  have 
been  requested,  as  more  convenient  in  posi 
tion  than  they  are,  to  solicit  that  cooperation. 
Having  no  personal  acquaintance  with  those 
who  are  charged  with  the  direction  of  the 

college  of ,  I  do  not  know  how  more 

effectually  to  communicate  these  views  to 
them,  than  by  availing  myself  of  the  knowl 
edge  I  have  of  your  zeal  for  the  happiness  and 
improvement  of  our  country.  I  take  the  lib 
erty,  therefore,  of  requesting  you  to  place  the 
subject  before  the  proper  authorities  of  that 
institution,  and  if  they  approve  the  measure, 
to  solicit  a  concurrent  proceeding  on  their 
part  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Besides  petition 
ing  Congress,  I  would  propose  that  they  ad 
dress,  in  their  corporate  capacity,  a  letter  to 
their  delegates  and  senators  in  Congress,  so 
liciting  their  best  endeavors  to  obtain  the 
repeal  of  the  duty  on  imported  books.  I 
cannot  but  suppose  that  such  an  application 
will  be  respected  by  them,  and  will  engage 
their  votes  and  endeavors  to  effect  an  object 
so  reasonable.  A  conviction  that  science  is 
important  to  the  preservation  of  our  repub 
lican  government,  and  that  it  is  also  essential 
to  its  protection  against  foreign  power,  in 
duces  me,  on  this  occasion,  to  step  beyond  the 
limits  of  that  retirement  to  which  age  and 

inclination  equally  dispose  me. —  To 

vii,  220.     (M.,  1821.) 

914.  BOOKS,     Lending.— The     losses     I 
have    sustained   by    lending   my   books   will    be 
my  apology  to  you   for  asking  your  particular 
attention  to  the  replacing  them  in  the  presses 
as    fast   as   you   finish   them,    and   not   to   lend 
them   to   anybody   else,   nor   suffer   anybody   to 
have  a  book  out  of  the  study  under  cover  of 
your     name. — To     JOHN     GARLAND    JEFFERSON. 
FORD  ED.,  v,   182.     (N.  Y.,    1790.) 

915.  BOOKS,    Love    of.— I    cannot    live 
without  books. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,     vi,  460. 
(M.,  1815.) 

916.  BOOKS,    Prices    of.— French    books 
are  to  be   bought  here    [Paris]    for  two-thirds 
of    what    they    can    in    England.     English    and 
Greek    and    Latin    authors    cost    from    twenty- 
five  to  fifty  per  cent,  more  here  than  in   Eng 
land. — To    EDMUND    RANDOLPH,     i,    434.     (P., 
1785.) 

917. .  Greek  and  Roman  au 
thors  are  dearer  here  [France]  than  I  believe 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Nobody  here  reads 
them,  wherefore  they  are  not  printed. — To 
JAMES  MADISON,  i,  414.  (P.,  1785.) 

918.  BOOKS,      Becommending. — It      is 

with  extreme  reluctance  that  I  permit  myself 
to  usurp  the  office  of  an  adviser  of  the  public, 
what  books  they  should  read,  and  what  not. 
I  yield,  however,  on  this  occasion  to  your 
wish  and  that  of  Colonel  Taylor,  and  do 


Books 

Boston  Port  Bill 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


104 


what  (with  a  single  exception  only)  I  never 
did  before,  on  the  many  similar  applications 
made  to  me. — To  SPENCER  ROANE.  vii,  212. 
FORD  ED.,  x,  189.  (M.,  1821.) 

919. .  This  book  ["  Construc 
tions  Construed  "]  is  the  most  effectual  retrac 
tion  of  our  government  to  its  original  prin 
ciples  which  has  ever  yet  been  sent  by 
heaven  to  our  aid.  Every  State  in  the  Union 
should  give  a  copy  to  every  member  they  elect, 
as  a  standing  instruction,  and  ours  should  set 
the  example. — To  ARCHIBALD  THWEAT.  vii, 
199.  FORD  ED.,  x,  184.  (M.,  1821.) 

920. .     You  ask  for  my  opinion 

of  the  work  you  send  me,  and  to  let  it  go  out 
to  the  public.  This  I  have  ever  made  a  point 
of  declining  (one  or  two  instances  only  ex- 
cepted).  Complimentary  thanks  to  writers  who 
have  sent  me  their  works,  have  betrayed  me  some 
times  before  the  public,  without  my  consent  hav 
ing  been  asked.  But  I  am  far  from  presuming 
to  direct  the  reading  of  my  fellow  citizens, 
who  are  good  enough  judges  themselves  of 
what  is  worthy  their  reading. — To  THOMAS 
RITCHIE,  vii,  192.  FORD  ED.,  xvi,  171.  (M., 
1820.) 

921.  BOOKS,  Time  and.— The   [French] 
literati    are    half    a    dozen    years    before    us. 
Books,  really  good,   acquire  just  reputation   in 
that   time,    and   so   become   known   to   us,    and 
communicate  to  us  all  their  advances  in  knowl 
edge.     Is   not  this   delay  compensated,   by   our 
being  placed   out  of  the  reach   of  that  swarm 
of  nonsensical  publications  which   issues  daily 
from  a  thousand  presses,  and  perishes  almost 
in    issuing? — To    MR.    BELLINI,     i,    445.     (P., 
1785.) 

922.  BOOKS,  Translations  of.— I  make  it 
a  rule  never  to  read  translations  when  I   can 
read     the    original. — To     EDMUND    RANDOLPH. 
iv,    101.     (M.,    1794.) 

923.  BOOKS,  Warfare  by.— After  the  se 
vere  chastisement  given  by   Mr.   Walsh   in   his 
American  Register  to  English  scribblers,  which 
they  well  deserved,  and  I  was  delighted  to  see, 
I  hoped  there  would  be  an  end  of  this  inter- 
crimination,  and  that  both  parties  would  prefer 
the  course  of  courtesy  and  conciliation,  and  I 
think    their     considerate     writers     have    since 
shown  that  disposition,  and  that  it  would  pre 
vail    if    equally    cultivated    by    us.     Europe    is 
doing  us  full  justice ;    why  then  detract  from 
her? — To    CHARLES    JARED    INGERSOLL.      FORD 
ED.,  x,   325.     (M.,    1824.) 

924.  BOSTON  POUT  BILL,  Denounced. 

— All  such  assumptions  of  unlawful  power 
[as  the  Boston  Port  act]  are  dangerous  to  the 
right  of  the  British  empire  in  general,  and 
should  be  considered  as  its  common  cause ; 
and  we  will  ever  be  ready  to  join  with  our 
fellow-subjects  in  every  part  of  the  same,  in 
executing  all  those  rightful  powers  which 
God  has  given  us.  for  the  reestablishment 
and  guaranteeing  *  *  *  their  constitutional 
rights,  when,  where,  and  by  whomsoever  in 
vaded.* — RESOLUTION  OF  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY. 
FORD  ED.,  i,  419.  (July  26,  1774.) 

925.  BOSTON    PORT    BILL,     A    Fast 
Proclaimed.- The   Legislature    of    Virginia 
happened  to  be  in  session,  in  Williamsburg, 
when  news  was   received  of  the  passage  by 
the  British   Parliament  of  the   Boston   Port 

*  Jefferson's  own  county.— EDITOR. 


Bill,  which  was  to  take  effect  on  the  first 
day  of  June  [1774]  then  ensuing.  The  House 
of  Burgesses  thereupon  passed  a  resolution, 
recommending  to  their  fellow  citizens,  that 
that  day  should  be  set  apart  for  fasting  and 
prayer  to  the  Supreme  Being,  imploring  Him 
to  avert  the  calamities  then  threatening  us, 
and  to  give  us  one  heart  and  one  mind  to 
oppose  every  invasion  of  our  liberties.  The 
next  day,  May  20,  1774,  the  Governor  dis 
solved  us. — JEFFERSON  PAPERS,  i,  122.  (1821.) 
See  FAST  DAYS. 

926.  BOSTON  PORT  BILL,  Ruin  by.— 

By  an  act  (7.  G.  3)  to  discontinue  in  such 
manner,  and  for  such  time  as  they  are  therein 
mentioned,  the  landing  and  discharging,  la 
ding  or  shipping  of  goods,  wares  and  merchan 
dize,  at  the  town  and  within  the  harbor  of 
Boston,  *  *  *  a  large  and  populous  town, 
whose  trade  was  their  sole  subsistence,  was 
deprived  of  that  trade,  and  involved  in  utter 
ruin.  Let  us  for  a  while,  suppose  the  question 
of  right  suspended,  in  order  to  examine  this 
act  on  principles  of  justice:  An  act  of  Par 
liament  had  been  passed  imposing  duties  on 
teas,  to  be  paid  in  America,  against  which 
act  the  Americans  had  protested  as  inauthor- 
itative.  The  East  India  Company,  who  till 
that  time  had  never  sent  a  pound  of  tea  to 
America  on  their  own  account,  step  forth  on 
that  occasion  the  asserters  of  Parliamentary 
right,  and  send  hither  many  ship  loads  of 
that  obnoxious  commodity.  The  masters  of 
their  several  vessels,  however,  on  their  ar 
rival  in  America,  wisely  attended  to  admoni 
tion,  and  returned  with  their  cargoes.  In 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  alone,  the  re 
monstrances  of  the  people  were  disregarded, 
and  a  compliance,  after  being  many  days 
waited  for,  was  flatly  refused.  Whether  in 
this  the  master  of  the  vessel  was  governed 
by  his  obstinacy,  or  his  instructions,  let  those 
who  know  say.  There  are  extraordinary  sit 
uations  which  require  extraordinary  inter 
position.  An  exasperated  people,  who  feel 
that  they  possess  power,  are  not  easily  re 
strained  within  limits  strictly  regular.  A 
number  of  them  assembled  in  the  town  of 
Boston,  threw  the  tea  into  the  ocean,  and 
dispersed  without  doing  any  other  act  of 
violence.  If  in  this  they  did  wrong,  they 
were  known  and  were  amenable  to  the  laws 
of  the  land,  against  which  it  could  not  be  ob 
jected  that  they  had  ever,  in  any  instance,  been 
obstructed  or  diverted  froâ„¢i  their  regular 
course  in  favor  of  popular  offenders.  They 
should,  therefore,  not  have  been  distrusted  on 
this  occasion.  But  that  ill-fated  colony  had 
formerly  been  bold  in  their  enmities  against 
the  house  of  Stuart,  and  were  now  devoted 
to  ruin  by  that  unseen  hand  which  governs 
the  momentous  affairs  of  this  great  empire. 
On  the  partial  representations  of  a  few  worth 
less  ministerial  dependents,  whose  constant 
office  it  has  been  to  keep  that  government 
embroiled,  and  who,  by  their  treacheries,  hope 
to  obtain  the  dignity  of  British  Knighthood,* 
without  calling  for  the  party  accused,  with- 

*  Alluding  to  the  Knighting  of  Sir  Francis  Bernard. 
—NOTE  BY  JEFFERSON. 


105 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Boston  Port  Bill 
Bottetourt  (Lord) 


out  asking  a  proof,  without  attempting  a  dis 
tinction  between  the  guilty  and  the  innocent, 
the  whole  of  that  ancient  and  wealthy  town, 
is  in  a  moment  reduced  from  opulence  to 
beggary.  Men  who  had  spent  their  lives  in 
extending  the  British  commerce,  who  had  in 
vested  in  that  place  the  wealth  their  honest 
endeavors  had  merited,  found  themselves  and 
their  families  thrown  at  once  on  the  world 
for  subsistence  by  its  charities.  Not  the  hun 
dredth  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  town 
had  been  concerned  in  the  act  complained  of ; 
many  of  them  were  in  Great  Britain  and  in 
other  parts  beyond  the  sea;  yet  all  were  in 
volved  in  one  indiscriminate  ruin  by  a  new 
executive  power,  unheard  of  till  then,  that  of 
a  British  Parliament.  A  property  of  the 
value  of  many  millions  of  money  was  sacri 
ficed  to  revenge,  not  repay,  the  loss  of  a  few 
thousands.  This  is  administering  justice  with 
a  heavy  hand  indeed !  And  when  is  this  tem 
pest  to  be  arrested  in  its  course?  Two 
wharves  are  to  be  opened  again  when  his 
Majesty  shall  think  proper.  The  residue, 
which  lined  the  extensive  shores  of  the  Bay 
of  Boston,  are  forever  interdicted  the  exer 
cise  of  commerce.  This  little  exception  seems 
to  have  been  thrown  in  for  no  other  purpose 
than  that  of  setting  a  precedent  for  investing 
his  Majesty  with  legislative  powers.  If  the 
pulse  of  his  people  shall  beat  calmly  under  this 
experiment,  another  and  another  shall  be 
tried,  till  the  measure  of  despotism  be  rilled 
up.  It  would  be  an  insult  on  common  sense 
to  pretend  that  this  exception  was  made  in 
order  to  restore  its  commerce  to  that  great 
town.  The  trade  which  cannot  be  received  at 
two  wharves  alone  must  of  necessity  be  trans 
ferred  to  some  other  place ;  to  which  it  will 
soon  be  followed  by  that  of  the  two  wharves. 
Considered  in  this  light,  it  would  be  insolent 
and  cruel  mockery  at  the  annihilation  of  the 
town  of  Boston. — RIGHTS  OF  BRITISH  AMER 
ICA,  i,  131.  FORD  ED.,  i,  436.  (i734-)  See 
DEPORTATION,  TEA. 

927.  BOTANY,  Attractiveness  of.— You 
will  find  botany  offering  its  charms  to  you,  at 
every    step    during    summer. — To    T.    M.    RAN 
DOLPH,  JR.     FORD  ED.,  iv,   290.     (P.,   1786.) 

928.  BOTANY,    New    York.— We    were 

*  *  *  pleased  with  the  botanical  objects  which 
continually  presented  themselves.    Those  either 
unknown   or  rare   in   Virginia  were   the   sugar 
maple  in  vast  abundance,  the  silver  fir,  white 
pine,  pitch  pine,  spruce  pine,  a  shrub  with  de 
cumbent    stems    which    they    call    juniper,    an 
azalea,  very  different  from  the  nudiflora,  with 
very  large  clusters  of  flowers,  more  thickly  set 
on   the    branches,    of    a    deeper    red,    and    high 
pink-fragrance.     It  is  the  richest  shrub  I  have 
seen.     The   honeysuckle   of   the   gardens   grow 
ing   wild    on    the   banks    of    Lake    George,    the 
paper    birch,    an    aspen    with    a    velvet    leaf,    a 
shrub  willow  with  downy  catkins,  a  wild  goose 
berry,   the   wild    cherry   with   single   fruit    (not 
the  bunch  cherry),  strawberries  in  abundance. — 
To  T.  M.  RANDOLPH.     FORD  ED.,  v,  340.     (June 
1791.) 

929.  BOTANY,  School  of.— It  is  time  to 
think  of  the  introduction  of  the  school  of  Botany 
into  our  institution.      (University  of  Virginia). 

*  *  *   i.  Our   first   operation    must   be   the   se 


lection  of  a  piece  of  ground  of  proper  soil  and 
site,  suppose  of  about  six  acres,  as  M.  Correa 
proposes.  In  choosing  this  we  are  to  regard 
the  circumstances  of  soil,  water,  and  distance. 
I  have  diligently  examined  all  our  grounds  with 
this  view,  and  think  that  on  the  public  road,  at 
the  upper  corner  of  our  possessions,  where  the 
stream  issues  from  them,  has  more  of  the  req 
uisite  qualities  than  any  other  spot  we  possess. 
One  hundred  and  seventy  yards  square,  taken 
at  that  angle,  would  make  the  six  acres  we 
want.  *  *  *  2.  Enclose  the  ground  with  a  ser 
pentine  brick  wall  seven  feet  high.  This 
would  take  about  80,000  bricks  and  cost  $800, 
and  it  must  depend  on  our  finances  whether 
they  will  afford  that  immediately,  or  allow  us, 
for  awhile,  but  enclosure  of  posts  and  rails. 
3.  Form  all  the  hill  sides  into  level  terraces  of 
convenient  breadth,  curving  with  the  hill,  and 
the  level  ground  into  beds  and  alleys.  4.  Make 
out  a  list  of  the  plants  thought  necessary  and 
sufficient  for  botanical  purposes,  and  of  the 
trees  we  propose  to  introduce,  and  take  meas 
ures  in  time  for  procuring  them.  As  to  the 
seeds  of  plants,  much  may  be  obtained  from  the 
gardeners  of  our  own  country.  I  have,  more 
over,  a  special  resource.  For  three  and  twenty 
years  of  the  last  twenty-five,  my  good  old 
friend  Thonin,  superintendent  of  the  Jardin 
des  Plantes  at  Paris,  has  regularly  sent  me  a 
box  of  seeds  of  such  exotics,  as  to  us,  as  would 
suit  our  climate,  and  containing  nothing  indig 
enous  to  our  country.  These  I  regularly 
sent  to  the  public  and  private  gardens  of  the 
other  States,  having  as  yet  no  employment  for 
them  here.  *  *  The  trees  I  should  pro 

pose  would  be  exotics  of  distinguished  use 
fulness,  and  accommodated  to  our  climate ; 
such  as  the  Larch,  Cedar  of  Libanus,  Cork, 
Oak,  the  Maronnier,  Mahogany?  the  Catachu 
or  Indian  rubber  tree  of  Napul  (30°),  Teak 
tree,  or  Indian  oak  of  Burmah  (23°),  the 
various  woods  of  Brazil,  &c.  The  seed  of 
the  Larch  can  be  obtained  from  a  tree  at 
Monticello.  Cones  of  the  Cedar  of  Libanus 
are  in  most  of  our  seed  shops,  but  may  be  had 
fresh  from  the  trees  in  the  English  gardens. 
The  Maronnier  and  Cork  tree  I  can  obtain 
from  France.  ^  There  is  a  Maronnier  at  Mount 
Vernon,  but  it  is  a  seedling,  and  not,  there 
fore,  select.  The  others  may  be  got  through 
the  means  of  our  ministers  and  consuls  in 
the  countries  where  they  grow,  or  from  the 
seed  shops  of  England,  where  they  may 
very  possibly  be  found.  Lastly,  a  gardener  of 
sufficient  skill  must  be  found.* — To  DR.  EM- 
METT.  vii.  438.  (M.,  1826.) 

930.  BOTANY,     Value     of.— Botany     I 
rank  with  the  most  valuable  sciences,  whether 
we    consider    its    subjects    as    furnishing    the 
principal  subsistence  of  life  to  man  and  beast, 
delicious  varieties  for  our  tables,  refreshments 
from    our    orchards,    the    adornments    of    our 
flower    borders,    shade    and    perfume    of    our 
groves,    materials    for   our   buildings,    or   medi 
caments  for  our  bodies.     To  the  gentleman  it 
is   certainly   more   interesting   than   mineralogy 
(which  I  by  no  means,  however,  undervalue), 
and  is  more  at  hand  for  his  amusement ;   and 
to  a  country  family  it  constitutes  a  great  por 
tion  of  their  social  entertainment.     No  country 
gentleman     should    be    without    what    amuses 
every     step     he     takes     into     his     fields. — To 
THOMAS  COOPER,     vi,  390.     (M.,  1814.) 

_  BOTTA'S  (C.),  History.— See  HISTORY. 

931.  BOTTETOURT    (Lord),   Character 
of. — Lord  Bottetourt  was  an  honourable  man. 

*  Dr.  Emmett  was  Professor  of  Natural  History  in 
the  University  of  Virginia.— EDITOR. 


Bottetourt  (Lord) 
Boundaries 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


1 06 


His  government  had  authorized  him  to  make 
certain  assurances  to  the  people  here  [Vir 
ginia],  which  he  made  accordingly.  He  wrote 
to  the  minister  that  he  had  made  these  assur 
ances,  and  that,  unless  he  should  be  enabled 
to  fulfil  them,  he  must  retire  from  his  situa 
tion.  This  letter  he  sent  unsealed  to  Peyton 
Randolph  for  his  inspection.  Lord  Botte- 
tourt's  great  respectability,  his  character  for 
integrity,  and  his  general  popularity,  would 
have  enabled  him  to  embarrass  the  measures 
of  the  patriots  exceedingly.  His  death  was, 
therefore,  a  fortunate  event  for  the  cause  of 
the  Revolution.  He  was  the  first  governor  in 
chief  that  had  ever  come  over  to  Virginia. 
Before  his  time,  we  had  received  only  depu 
ties,  the  governor  residing  in  England,  with 
a  salary  of  five  thousand  pounds,  and  paying 
his  deputy  one  thousand  pounds. — CONVERSA 
TION  WITH  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  FORD  ED.,  x, 
330.  (1824.) 

932.  BOUNDARIES,  Louisiana.— The 
boundaries  of  Louisiana,  which  I  deem  not  ad 
mitting  question,  are  the  highlands  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Mississippi  enclosing  all 
its  waters,  the  Missouri  of  course,  and  termi 
nating  in  the  line  drawn  from  the  northwestern 
point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  nearest 
source  of  the  Mississippi,  as  lately  settled 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
We  have  some  claims,  to  extend  on  the  sea- 
coast  westwardly  to  the  Rio  Norte  or  Bravo, 
and  better,  to  go  eastwardly  to  the  Rio  Perdido, 
between  Mobile  and  Pensacola,  the  ancient 
boundary  of  Louisiana.  Those  claims  will  be  a 
subject  of  negotiation  with  Spain,  and  if,  as 
soon  as  she  is  at  war,  we  push  them  strongly 
with  one  hand,  holding  out  a  price  in  the 
other,  we  shall  certainly  obtain  the  Floridas, 
and,  all  in  good  time.  In  the  meanwhile, 
without  waiting  for  permission,  we  shall  enter 
into  the  exercise  of  the  natural  right  we  have 
always  insisted  on  with  Spain,  to  wit,  that  of 
a  nation  holding  the  upper  part  of  streams, 
having  a  right  of  innocent  passage  through 
them  to  the  ocean.  We  shall  prepare  her  to 
see  us  practice  on  this,  and  she  will  not  op 
pose  it  by  force. — To  JOHN  C.  BRECKENRIDGE. 
iv,  498.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  242.  (M.,  Aug.  1803.) 

933. .  We  are  attached  to  the 

retaining  of  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  because 
it  was  the  first  establishment  of  the  unfortunate 
La  Salle,  was  the  cradle  of  Louisiana,  and  more 
incontestibly  covered  and  conveyed  to  us  by 
France,  under  that  name,  than  any  other  spot 
in  the  country. — To  JAMES  BOWDOIN.  v,  19. 
(W.,  1806.) 

934. .  You  know  the  French 

considered  themselves  entitled  to  the  Rio  Bravo, 
and  that  Laussat  declared  his  orders  to  be  to 
receive  possession  to  that  limit,  but  not  to 
Perdido;  and  that  France  has  to  us  been  al 
ways  silent  as  to  the  western  boundary,  while 
she  spoke  decisively  as  to  the  eastern.  ^You 
know  Turreau  agreed  with  us  that  neither 
party  should  strengthen  themselves  in  the  dis 
puted  country  during  negotiation ;  and  [Gen 
eral]  Armstrong,  who  says  Monroe  concurs 
with  him,  is  of  opinion,  from  the  character  of 
the  Emperor,  that  were  we  to  restrict  ourselves 
to  taking  posts  on  the  west  side  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  threaten  a  cessation  of  intercourse 
with  Spain,  Bonaparte  would  interpose  effi 
ciently  to  prevent  the  quarrel  going  further. 
Add  to  these  things  the  fact  that  Spain  has 
sent  five  hundred  colonists  to  San  Antonio, 
and  one  hundred  troops  to  Nacogdoches,  and 
probably  has  fixed  or  prepared  a  post  at  the 
Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  at  Matagordo.  Supposing, 


then,  a  previous  alliance  with  England  to 
guard  us  in  the  worst  event,  I  should  propose 
that  Congress  should  pass  acts,  i,  authorizing 
the  Executive  to  suspend  intercourse  with 
Spain  at  discretion ;  2,  to  dislodge  the  new 
establishments  of  Spain  between  the  Missis 
sippi  and  Bravo ;  and,  3,  to  appoint  commis 
sioners  to  examine  and  ascertain  all  claims 
for  spoliation  that  they  might  be  preserved  for 
future  indemnification. — To  JAMES  MADISON. 
iv,  587.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  379.  (M.,  Sept.  1805.) 

935. .     By  the  charter  of  Louis 

XIV.  all  the  country  comprehending  the 
waters  which  flow  into  the  Mississippi,  was 
made  a  part  of  Louisiana.  Consequently  its 
northern  boundary  was  the  summit  of  the  high 
lands  in  which  its  northern  waters  rise.  But 
by  the  Xth  Art.  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
France  and  England  agreed  to  appoint  commis 
sioners  to  settle  the  boundary  between  their 
possessions  in  that  quarter,  and  those  com 
missioners  settled  it  at  the  49th  degree  of 
latitude.  (See  Hutchinson's  Topographical 
Description  of  Louisiana,  p.  7.)  This  it 
was  which  induced  the  British  Commissioners, 
in  settling  the  boundary  with  us,  to  follow  the 
northern  water  line  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
at  the  latitude  of  49°,  and  then  go  off  on  that 
parallel.  This,  then,  is  the  true  northern 
boundary  of  Louisiana.  The  western  boundary 
of  Louisiana  is,  rightfully,  the  Rio  Bravo  (its 
main  stream),  from  its  mouth  to  its  source, 
and  thence  along  the  highlands  and  mountains 
dividing  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  from 
those  of  the  Pacific.  The  usurpations  of 
Spain  on  the  east  side  of  that  river,  have  in 
duced  geographers  to  suppose  the  Puerco  or 
Sal  a  do  to  be  the  boundary.  The  line  along 
the  highlands  stands  on  the  charter  of  _  Louis 
XIV.,  that  of  the  Rio  Bravo  on  the  circum 
stance  that,  when  La  Salle  took  possession 
of  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  Panuco  was  the 
nearest  possession  of  Spain,  and  the  Rio 
Bravo  the  natural  half-way  boundary  between 
them.  On  the  waters  of  the  Pacific,  we  can 
found  no  claims  in  right  of  Louisiana. — To 
JOHN  MELLISH.  vii,  51.  (M.,  1816.) 

936.  BOUNDARIES,     Massachusetts 
and  New  York. — I  enclose  you  a  Massachu 
setts   paper,    whereby   you   will   see   that   some 
acts  of  force  have  taken  place  on  our  eastern 
boundary.     *     *     *     The  want  of  an  accurate 
map    of    the    Bay    of    Passamaquoddy    renders 
it   difficult   to    form    a   satisfactory    opinion    in 
the  point  in  contest.     *     *     *     There  is  a  re 
port  that  some  acts  of  force  have  taken  place 
on  the  northern  boundary  of   New  York,   and 
are   now   under  the   consideration   of  the   gov 
ernment    of    that    State.     The    impossibility    of 
bringing   the    court    of    London    to    an    adjust 
ment  of  any  difference  whatever,  renders  our 
situation   perplexing.     Should   any   applications 
from  the  States  or  their  citizens  be  so  urgent 
as  to  require  something  to  be  said  before  your 
return,  my  opinion  would  be  that  they  should 
be  desired  to  make  no  new  settlements  on  our 
part,  nor  suffer  any  to  be  made  on  the  part  of 
the  British,  within  the  disputed  territory;   and 
if  any  attempt  should  be  made  to  remove  them 
from  the  settlements   already   made,   that  they 
are  to  repel  force  by  force,  and  ask  aid  of  the 
neighboring  militia  to  do  this  and  no  more.     I 
see  no  other  way  of  forcing  the  British  govern 
ment  to  come  forward  themselves  and  demand 
an  amicable  settlement. — To  PRESIDENT  WASH 
INGTON,     iii,  230.     (Pa.,  March  1791-) 

937.  BOUNDARIES,  Northwest.— [In  a 
conversation     with     George     Hammond,     the 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Boundaries 


British  minister],  he  observed  that  the  treaty 
[of  peace]  was  of  itself  so  vague  and  inconsist 
ent  in  many  of  its  parts  as  to  require  an  ex 
planatory  convention.  He  instanced  the  two 
articles,  one  of  which  gave  them  the  navigation 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  other  bounded  them 
by  a  due  west  line  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
which  being  now  understood  to  pass  beyond 
the  most  northern  sources  of  the  Mississippi, 
intercepted  all  access  to  that  river ;  that  to 
reconcile  these  articles,  that  line  should  be  so 
run  as  to  give  them  access  to  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that  it  would 
even  be  for  our  interest  to  introduce  a  third 
power  between  us  and  the  Spaniards.  He 
asked  my  idea  of  the  line  from  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods,  and  of  now  settling  it.  I  told 
him  I  knew  of  no  objection  to  the  settlement 
of  it ;  that  my  idea  of  it  was,  that  if  it  was  an 
impassable  line,  as  proposed  in  the  treaty,  it 
should  be  rendered  passable  by  as  small  and 
unimportant  an  alteration  as  might  be,  which 
I  thought  would  be  to  throw  in  a  line  running 
due  north  from  the  northernmost  source  of  the 
Mississippi  till  it  should  strike  the  western 
line  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  ;  that  the  arti 
cle  giving  them  a  navigation  in  the  Mississippi 
did  not  relate  at  all  to  this  northern  boundary, 
but  to  the  southern  one,  and  to  the  secret  arti 
cle  respecting  that ;  that  he  knew  that  our 
Provisional  Treaty  was  made  seven  weeks  be 
fore  that  with  Spain  ;  that  at  the  date  of  purs, 
their  ministers  had  still  a  hope  of  retaining 
Florida,  in  which  case  they  were  to  come  up 
to  the  32d  degree,  and  in  which  case  also  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  would  have  been 
important ;  but  that  they  had  not  been  able,  in 
event,  to  retain  the  country  to  which  the  navi 
gation  was  to  be  an  appendage.  (It  was  evi 
dent  to  me  that  they  had  it  in  view  to  claim  a 
slice  on  our  northwestern  quarter,  that  they 
may  get  into  the  Mississippi ;  indeed,  I  thought 
it  presented  as  a  sort  of  make-weight  with  the 
Posts  to  compensate  the  great  losses  their  citi 
zens  had  sustained  by  the  infractions  charged 
on  us). — THE  ANAS,  ix,  428.  FORD  ED.,  i, 
195.  (June  1792.) 

938.  BOUNDARIES,  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia.— The  principle  on  which  the  bound 
ary  between  Pennsylvania  and  this  State  is 
to  be  run  having  been  fixed,  it  is  now  proposed 
by  President  Reed  that  commissioners  proceed 
to  execute  the  work  from  the  termination  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  to  the  completion  of 
five  degrees  of  longitude,  and  thence  on  a 
meridian  to  the  Ohio.  We  propose  that  the 
extent  of  the  five  degrees  of  longitude  shall 
be  determined  by  celestial  observation.  Of 
course  it  will  require  one  set  of  astronomers 
to  be  at  Philadelphia,  and  another  at  Fort  Pitt. 
We  ask  the  favor  of  yourselves  to  undertake 
this  business,  the  one  to  go  to  the  one  place, 
the  other  to  the  other,  meaning  to  add  a  co 
adjutor  to  each  of  you. — To  REV.  JAMES  MADI 
SON  AND  ROBERT  ANDREWS.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  513. 

(R.,  1781.) 

939. .     No  mode  of  determining 

the  extent  of  the  five  degrees  of  longitude  of 
Delaware  river,  in  the  latitude  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  Line  having  been  pointed  out  by  your 
Excellency  [Joseph  Reed],  I  shall  venture  to 
propose  that  this  be  determined  by  astronom 
ical  observations.,  to  be  made  at  or  near  the 
two  ^  extremities  of  the  line,  as  being  in  our 
opinion  the  most  certain  and  unexceptionable 
mode  of  determining  that  point  which,  being 
fixed,  everything  else  will  be  easy. — To  PRESI 
DENT  REED.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  15.  (R.,  1781.) 


940.  BOUNDARIES,  United  States  and 
Great  Britain.— A  further  knowledge  of  the 
ground  in  the  north-eastern  and  north-western 
angles   of  the   United   States  has   evinced  that 
the    boundaries    established    by    the    treaty    of 
Paris,     between     the     British     territories     and 
ours   in  those  parts,   were  too   imperfectly  de 
scribed  to  be  susceptible  of  execution.     It  has, 
therefore,  been  thought  worthy  of  attention,  for 
preserving    and    cherishing    the    harmony    and 
useful   intercourse   subsisting  between   the  two 
nations,    to    remove    by    timely    arrangements 
what    unfavorable    incidents    might    otherwise 
render    a   ground    of    future    misunderstanding. 
A  convention  has,  therefore,  been  entered  into, 
which  provides  for  a  practical  demarcation  of 
those  limits  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties. 
— THIRD  ANNUAL  MESSAGE,     viii,  26.    FORD  ED., 
viii,    270.     (Oct.    1803.) 

941.  BOUNDARIES,  United  States  and 
Spain. — The  southern  limits  of  Georgia  de 
pend   chiefly   on,    i.     The   charter   of   Carolina 
to   the    Lords    Proprietors,    in    1663,    extending 
southwardly  to  the  river  Matheo,  now  called  St. 
John's,  supposed  in  the  charter  to  be  in  latitude 
31°,  and  50°  west  in  a  direct  line  as  far  as  the 
South   Sea.     See  the  charter   in   4th    Manoires 
de  1'Amerique,  554.     2.  On  the  proclamation  of 
the    British    King,    in     1763,    establishing    the 
boundary  between  Georgia  and  the  two   Flori- 
das,  to  begin   in  the   Mississippi,   in  thirty-one 
degrees  of  latitude  north   of  the   equator,   and 
running  eastwardly  to  the  Apalachicola ;  thence, 
along  the  said  river  to  the  mouth  cf  the  Flint ; 
thence,   in   a  direct  line,   to  the  source   of  the 
St   Mary's   River,    and   down   the   same   to   the 
ocean.     3.  On  the  treaties  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  of  November  30,  1782, 
and  September  3,   1783,  repeating  and  confirm 
ing   these   ancient   boundaries.     There   was    an 
intermediate  transaction,  to  wit :  a  convention 
concluded    at   the    Pardo,    in    1739,    whereby    it 
was     agreed     that     Ministers      Plenipotentiary 
should  be  immediately  appointed  by  Spain  and 
Great  Britain  for  settling  the  limits  of  Florida 
and  Carolina.     The  convention  is  to  be  found 
in  the  collections  of  treaties.     But  the  proceed 
ings    of    the     Plenipotentiaries     are    unknown 
here.       *       *       *       — MISSISSIPPI     RIVER    IN 
STRUCTIONS,      vii,     573.      FORD     ED.,     v,     464. 
(1792.) 

942. .     To  this  demonstration  of 

our  rights  may  be  added  the  explicit  declara 
tion  of  the  court  of  Spain,  that  she  would  ac 
cede  to  them.  This  took  place  in  conversa 
tions  and  correspondence  thereon  between 
Mr.  Jay,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  the 
United  States  at  the  court  of  Madrid,  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  the  Count  de  Florida 
Blanca.  Monsieur  de  Lafayette,  in  his  letter 
of  February  19,  1783,  to  the  Count  de  Florida 
Blanca,  states  the  result  of  their  conversations 
on  limits  in  these  words :  "  With  respect  to 
limits,  his  Catholic  Majesty  has  adopted  those 
that  are  determined  by  the  preliminaries  of 
the  3oth  of  November,  between  the  United 
States  and  the  court  of  London."  The  Count 
de  Florida  Blanca,  in  his  answer  of  February 
22d,  to  M.  de  Lafayette,  says,  "  although  it  is 
his  Majesty's  intention  to  abide  for  the  present 
by  the  limits  established  by  the  treaty  of  the 
30th  of  November,  1782,  between  the  English 
and  the  Americans,  the  King  intends  to  inform 
himself  particularly  whether  it  can  be  in  any 
ways  inconvenient  or  prejudicial  to  settle  that 
affair  amicably  with  the  United  States;"  and 
M.  de  Lafayette,  in  his  letter  of  the  same  day 
to  Mr.  Jay,  wherein  he  had  inserted  the  pre 
ceding,  says,  "  On  receiving  the  answer  of  the 


Boundaries 
Brazil 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


1 08 


Count  de  Florida  Blanca  (to  wit :  his  answer, 
before  mentioned,  to  M.  de  Lafayette),  I  de 
sired  an  explanation  respecting  the  addition 
that  relates  to  the  limits.  I  was  answered 
that  it  was  a  fixed  principle  to  abide  by  the 
limits  established  by  the  treaty  between  the 
English  and  the  Americans :  that  his  remark 
related  only  to  mere  unimportant  details,  which 
he  wished  to  receive  from  the  Spanish  com 
mandants,  which  would  be  amicably  regulated, 
and  would  by  no  means  oppose  the  general  prin 
ciple.  I  asked  him,  before  the  Ambassador  of 
France  (M.  de  Montmorin),  whether  he  would 
give  me  his  word  of  honor  for  it ;  he  assured 
me  he  would,  and  that  I  might  engage  it  to  the 
United  States." — MISSISSIPPI  RIVER  INSTRUC 
TIONS,  vii,  574.  FORD  ED.,  v,  465.  (1792.) 

943. .     To  conclude  the  subject 

of  boundary,  the  following  condition  is  to  be 
considered  by  the  commissioners  as  a  sine  qua 
non :  That  our  southern  boundary  remain  es 
tablished  at  the  completion  of  thirty-one  de 
grees  of  latitude  on  the  Mississippi,  and  so  on 
to  the  ocean,  *  *  *  and  our  western  one 
along  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  however  that  channel  may  vary,  as  it  is 
constantly  varying,  and  that  Spain  cease  to 
occupy,  or  to  exercise  jurisdiction  in  any  part 
northward  or  eastward  of  these  boundaries. — 
MISSISSIPPI  RIVER  INSTRUCTIONS,  vii,  585. 
FORD  ED.,  v,  475.  (1792.) 

944. .     It   is   not   true   that   our 

ministers,  in  agreeing  to  establish  the  Colorado 
as  our  western  boundary,  had  been  obliged  to 
exceed  the  authority  of  their  instructions.  Al 
though  we  considered  our  title  good  as  far  as 
the  Rio  Bravo,  yet  in  proportion  to  what  they 
could  obtain  east  of  the  Mississippi,  they  were 
to  relinquish  to  the  westward,  and  successive 
sacrifices  were  marked  out,  of  which  even  the 
Colorado  was  not  the  last.* — To  W.  A.  BUR- 
WELL,  v,  20.  FORD  EDV  viii,  469.  (M.,  Sep. 
1806.) 

945.  BOUNDARIES,       Virginia       and 
Maryland. — I  suppose  you  are  informed  oj 
the  proceeding  commenced  by  the   Legislature 
of  Maryland,  to  claim  the  south  branch  of  the 
Potomac  as  their  boundary,  and  thus  of  Albe- 
marle,  now  the  central  county  of  the  State,  to 
make  a  frontier.     As  it  is  impossible  upon  any 
consistent  principles,  and  after  such  a  length  o: 
undisturbed  possession,  that  they  can  expect  to 
establish  their  claim,  it  can  be  ascribed  to  no 
other  than  intention  to  irritate  and  divide ;    am 
there  can  be  no  doubt  from  what  bow  the  shaf 
is    shot.     However,    let    us    cultivate    Pennsyl 
vania,  and  we  need  not  fear  the  universe.     The 
Assembly    have    named    me    among   those   who 
are  to  manage  this  controversy.     But  I  am  so 
averse   to   motion    and   contest,    and   the   othe 
members    are    so    fully    equal    to    the    business 
that  I   cannot  undertake  to   act  in   it.     I   wisl 
you  were  added  to  them. — To  JAMES  MADISON 
iv,   162.     FORD  ED.,  vii,    109.     (M.,  Jan.    1797. 

946.  BOUNTIES,     Policy    regarding.— 
It   is   not   the   policy   of   the   government   i 
America  to  give  aid  to  works  of  any  kinc 
They  let  things  take  their  natural  course  with 
out  help  or  impediment,   which   is  generall 
the    best    policy. — To    THOMAS    DIGGES. 
413.    FORD  ED.,  v,  29.    (P.,  1788.) 

947.  BOUNTIES,  Recommended.— 
Among  the  purposes  to  which  the  Constitutio 

*  This  was  one  of  the  newspaper  charges  made  b 
John  Randolph  against  the  administration  of  Jeffer 
son.— EDITOR. 


)ermits  Congress  to  apply  money,  the  grant- 

ng  premiums  or  bounties  is  not  enumerated, 

nd  there  has  never  been  a  single  instance  of 

icir  doing  it,  although  there  has  been  a  mul- 

plicity  of  applications.    The  Constitution  has 

eft    these    encouragements    to    the    separate 

States.     I  have  in  two  or  three  messages  to 

Tongress  recommended  an  amendment  to  the 

Constitution,  which  shall  extend  their  power 

0  these  objects.     But  nothing  is  yet  done  in 
t.     I  fear,  therefore,  that  the  institution  you 
propose   must   rest  on   the  patronage  of   the 
State  in  which  it  is  to  be.     I  wish  I  could 

have  answered  you  more  to  my  own  mind,  as 
well  as  yours;  but  truth  is  the  first  object. — 
To  DR.  MAESE.  v,  412.  (W.,  Jan.  1809.) 

948.  BOURBONS,  Incompetent.— A   new 
:rial  of  the  Bourbons  has  proved  to  the  world 
heir  incompetence  to  the  functions  of  the  sta- 
ions  they  have  occupied ;  and  the  recall  of  the 

usurper  has  clothed  him  with  the  semblance 
of  a  legitimate  autocrat. — To  JOHN  ADAMS,  vi, 
458.  (M.,  June  1815.) 

949.  BOWLES  (W.  A.),  Incites  Creek  In 
dians.— I     *    *    *    enclose  you  [the  British 

Minister]  an  extract  of  a  letter  *  *  *  giv- 
ng  information  of  a  Mr.  Bowles,*  lately  come 
from  England  into  the  Creek  country,  endeav 
oring  to  excite  that  nation  of  Indians  to  war 
against  the  United  States,  and  pretending  to  be 
employed  by  the  government  of  England.  We 
lave  other  testimony  of  these  pretensions,  and 
that  he  carries  them  much  farther  than  there 
stated.  We  have  too  much  confidence  in  the 
justice  and  wisdom  of  the  British  government 
to  believe  they  can  approve  of  the  proceedings 

01  this  incendiary  and  impostor,  or  countenance 
ior  a  moment  a  person  who  takes  the  liberty 
of  using  their  name   for  such   a  purpose. — To 
GEORGE  HAMMOND.     FORD  ED.,  v.     (Pa.,  1791.) 


950. 


Of    this    adventurer    the 


Spanish  government  rid  us. — To  CARMICHAEL 
AND  SHORT,  iv,  u.  FORD  ED.,  vi,  332.  (Pa., 
I793-) 

951.  BOYS,  Sound  Principles  and.— The 
boys  of  the  rising  generation  are  to  be  the 
men  of  the  next,  and  the  sole  guardians  of 
the  principles  we  deliver  over  to  them. — To 
REV.  MR.  KNOX.     v,  502.     (M.,  1810.)     See 
CHILDREN. 

952.  BRAZIL,     Condition    of.— Procure 

for  us  all  the  information  possible  as  to  the 
strength,  riches,  resources,  lights  and  dispo 
sitions  of  Brazil.  The  jealousy  of  the  court 
of  Lisbon  on  this  subject  will,  of  course,  in 
spire  you  with  due  caution  in  making  and 
communicating  these  inquiries. — To  DAVID 
HUMPHREYS.  FORD  ED.,  v,  317.  (Pa.,  1791.) 

953.  BRAZIL,        Empire       of. — Having 
learned  the  safe  arrival  of  your  Royal  High 
ness  at  the  city  of  Rio  Janeiro  I  perform  with 
pleasure  the  duty  of  offering  you  my  sincere 
congratulations   *     *     *  .  I    trust    that    this 
event  will  be  as  propitious  to  the  prosperity 
of  your  faithful  subjects^as  to  the  happiness 
of  your  Royal  Highness  in  which  the  United 

*  A  Maryland  Loyalist,  who  later  styled  himself  a 
chief  of  the  Creek  Indians.  See  FORD'S  Writings  of 
Washington,  xii.  159,  and  Maryland  Loyalist,  33.— 
NOTE  in  FORD  ED. 


109 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Brazil 
Bubbles 


States  of  America  have  ever  taken  a  lively 
interest.  Inhabitants  now  of  the  same  land, 
of  that  great  continent  which  the  genius  of 
Columbus  has  given  to  the  world,  the  United 
States  feel  sensibly  that  they  stand  in  new 
and  closer  relations  with  your  Royal  High 
ness,  and  that  the  motives  which  heretofore 
nourished  the  friendly  relations  which  have  so 
happily  prevailed,  have  acquired  increased 
strength  on  the  transfer  of  your  residence  to 
their  shores.  They  see  in  prospect,  a  system 
of  intercourse  between  the  different  regions 
of  this  hemisphere  of  which  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  mankind  may  be  the  essential 
principle.  To  this  principle  your  long  tried 
adherence,  for  the  benefit  of  those  you  gov 
erned,  in  the  midst  of  warring  powers,  is  a 
pledge  to  the  new  world  that  its  peace,  its 
free  and  friendly  intercourse,  will  be  your 
chief  concern.  On  the  part  of  the  United 
States  I  assure  you,  that  these  which  have 
hitherto  been  their  ruling  objects,  will  be  most 
particularly  cultivated  with  your  Royal  High 
ness  and  your  subjects  at  Brazil,  and  they 
hope  that  that  country  so  favored  by  the  gifts 
of  nature,  now  advanced  to  a  station  under 
your  immediate  auspices,  will  find,  in  the  in 
terchange  of  mutual  wants  and  supplies,  the 
true  aliment  of  an  unchanging  friend 
ship  with  the  United  States  of  America. — 
To  THE  EMPEROR  OF  BRAZIL,  v,  285.  (May 
1808.) 

954.  BRAZIL,  Republicanism  in.— I 
shall  not  wonder  if  Brazil  should  revolt  in 
mass,  and  send  their  royal  family  back  to  Por 
tugal.  Brazil  is  more  populous,  more  wealthy, 
more  energetic,  and  as  wise  as  Portugal. — To 
MARQUIS  LAFAYETTE,  vii,  68.  FORD  ED.,  x, 
85.  (M.,  1817.) 

955. .  Although  we  have  no 

right  to  intermeddle  with  the  form  of  gov 
ernment  of  other  nations,  yet  it  is  lawful  to 
wish  to  see  no  emperors  nor  kings  in  our 
hemisphere,  and  that  Brazil  as  well  as  Mex 
ico  will  homologize  with  us. — To  PRESIDENT 
MONROE.  FORD  EDV  x,  244.  (M.,  Dec.  1822.) 

956.  BRIBERY,  Electoral.— No  person 
shall  be  capable  of  acting  in  any  office,  civil, 
military,  or  ecclesiastical,  who  shall  have 
given  any  bribe  to  obtain  such  office. — PRO 
POSED  VA.  CONSTITUTION.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  28. 
(June  1776.) 

957. .  Every  person  *  *  * 

qualified  to  elect  [to  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives  of  Virginia],  shall  be  capable  of  being 
elected  [to  the  House  of  Representatives]  ; 
provided  he  shall  have  given  no  bribe,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  any  elector. — PRO 
POSED  VA.  CONSTITUTION.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  14. 
(June  1776.) 

958.  -  — .     The    Senators'    qualifica 
tions   shall   be  *    *    *  the  having  given   no 
bribe,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  obtain  their  ap 
pointment.— PROPOSED      VA.      CONSTITUTION. 
FORD  ED.,  ii,  16.     (June  1776.) 

959.  BRIBERY,    Great    Britain    and.— 
The  known  practice  [of  the  British  Govern 
ment]  is  to  bribe  whom  they  can,  and  whom 


they  cannot  to  calumniate.  They  have  found 
scoundrels  in  America,  and  either  judging 
from  that,  or  their  own  principles,  they  would 
pretend  to  believe  all  are  so.  If  pride  of 
character  be  of  worth  at  any  time,  it  is  when 
it  disarms  the  efforts  of  malice.  What  a  mis 
erable  refuge  is  individual  slander  to  so  glo 
rious  a  nation  as  Great  Britain  has  been. — To 
GENERAL  NELSON.  FORD  ED.,  ii,  464.  (R., 
1781.) 

960.  BRIBERY,      Jefferson      and.— Of 
you,  my  neighbors,  I  may  ask,  in  the  face  of 
the  world,  "  whose  ox  have  I  taken,  or  whom 
have  I  defrauded?    Whom  have  I  oppressed, 
or  of  whose  hand  have  I  received  a  bribe  to 
blind   mine   eyes   therewith?     On   your   ver 
dict  I  rest  with  conscious  security. — To  THE 
INHABITANTS  OF  ALBEMARLE  COUNTY,    v,  439. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  251.     (M.,  April  1809.) 

961.  BRIBERY     OF     OFFICIALS.— In 

general,  I  am  confident  that  you  will  receive 
notice  of  the  [trade]  regulations  of  this  coun 
try  [France]  respecting  their  islands,  by  the 
way  of  those  islands  before  you  will  from 
hence  [Paris].  Nor  can  this  be  remedied  but 
by  a  system  of  bribery  which  would  end  in  the 
corruption  of  your  own  ministers,  and  pro 
duce  no  good  adequate  to  the  expense. — To 
JAMES  MONROE,  i,  590.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  250.  (P., 
1786.)  See  CORRUPTION. 

962.  BRIGGS     (Isaac),     Scientific    At 
tainments     of.— I     have     appointed     Isaac 
Briggs,    of    Maryland,    surveyor    of    the    lands 
south  of  Tennessee.     He  is  a  Quaker,  a  sound 
republican,  and  of  a  pure  and  unspotted  char 
acter.     In     point     of     science,     in     astronomy, 
geometry  and  mathematics,  he  stands  in  a  line 
with  Mr.  Ellicott,  and  second  to  no  man  in  the 
United     States.     I     recommend    him    to    your 
particular  patronage ;  the  candor,  modesty  and 
simplicity   of  his   manners   cannot   fail   to   gain 
ycur  esteem.     For  the  office  of  surveyor,  men  of 
the    first    order    of    science    in    astronomy    and 
mathematics  are  essentially  necessary. — To  GOV 
ERNOR  CLAIBORNE.     iv,  489.     (W.,  1803.) 

963.  BROGLIO    (Marshal   de),    Charac 
ter  of.— The  Marshal  de  Broglio,  is  a  high 
flying    aristocrat,    cool    and    capable    of    every 
thing. — To  JOHN  JAY.     iii,  74.     (P.,   1789.) 

964.  BROWN    (James),    Loyalty    of.— 

That  you  ever  participated  in  any  plan  for  a 
division  of  the  Union,  I  never  for  a  moment 
believed.  I  knew  your  Americanism  too  well. 
But  as  the  enterprise  against  Mexico  was  of  a 
very  different  character,  I  had  supposed  what  I 
heard  on  that  subject  to  be  possible.  You  dis 
avow  it ;  that  is  enough  for  me,  and  I  forever 
dismiss  the  idea. — To  DR.  JAMES  BROWN,  v, 
378.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  210.  (W.,  1808.) 

965.  BUBBLES,  Speculative.— The  Amer 
ican    mind    is    now    in    that    state    of    fever 
which  the  world  has  so  often  seen  in  the  his 
tory  of  other  nations.    We  are  under  the  bank 
bubble,  as  England  was  under  the  South  Sea 
bubble,  France  under  the  Mississippi  bubble, 
and  as  every  nation  is  liable  to  be,  under  what 
ever  bubble,  design,  or  delusion  may  puff  up 
in     moments     when     off     their     guard. — To 
CHARLES  YANCEY.     vi,  515.     FORD  ED.,  x,  2. 
(M.,  Jan.  1816.)    See  SPECULATION. 


Buchan  (Karl  of) 
Bunker  Mill 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


110 


966.  BUCHAN   (Earl   of),   Character.— 

He  is  an  honorable,  patriotic,  and  virtuous  char 
acter  [and],  was  in  correspondence  with  Dr. 
Franklin  and  General  Washington. — To  JAMES 
MONROE.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  287.  (W.,  1804.) 

967.  BUCHANAN  (George),  Works  of. 
— The  title  of  the  tract  of  Buchanan  which 
you  propose  to  translate  was  familiar  to  me,  and 
I  possessed  the  tract ;  but  no  circumstance  had 
ever  led  me  to  look  into  it.     Yet  I  think  noth 
ing  more  likely  than  that,  in  the  free  spirit  of 
that  age  and  state  of  society,  principles  should 
be  avowed,   which  were  felt  and   followed,   al 
though  unwritten   in  the   Scottish   constitution. 
Undefined   powers    had   been    intrusted   to    the 
crown,  undefined  rights  retained  by  the  people, 
and  these  depended   for  their   maintenance  on 
the  spirit  of  the  people,  which,  in  that  day  was 
dependence    sufficient.* — To    REV.    MR.    KNOX. 
v,  502.     (M.,  1810.) 

968. .     His  latinity  is  so  pure  as 

to  claim  a  place  in  school  reading. — To  REV. 
MR.  KNOX.  v,  502.  (M.,  1810.) 

969.  BUFFON  (Count  de),  Animal  the 
ories  refuted.— The  opinion  advanced  by 
the  Count  de  Buffon,  is,  i.  That  the  animals 
common  both  to  the  old  and  new  world  are 
smaller  in  the  latter.  2.  That  those  peculiar 
to  the  new  are  on  a  smaller  scale.  3.  That 
those  which  have  been  domesticated  in  both 
have  degenerated  in  America ;  and  4.  That 
on  the  whole  it  exhibits  fewer  species.  And 
the  reason  he  thinks  is,  that  the  heats  of 
America  are  less ;  that  more  waters  are  spread 
over  its  surface  by  nature,  and  fewer  of  these 
drained  off  by  the  hand  of  man.  In  other 
words,  that  heat  is  friendly,  and  moisture  ad 
verse  to  the  production  and  development  of 
large  quadrupeds.  I  will  not  meet  this  hypothe 
sis  on  its  first  doubtful  ground,  whether  the 
climate  of  America  be  comparatively  more 
humid,  because  we  are  not  furnished  with  ob 
servations  sufficient  to  decide  this  question. 
And  though,  till  it  be  decided,  we  are  as  free 
to  deny  as  others  are  to  affirm  the  fact,  yet 
for  a  moment  let  it  be  supposed.  The  hy 
pothesis  after  this  supposition,  proceeds  to  an 
other  ;  that  moisture  is  unfriendly  to  animal 
growth.  The  truth  of  this  is  inscrutable  to 
us  by  reasonings  a  priori.  Nature  has  hidden 
from  us  her  modus  agendi.  Our  only  appeal 
on  such  questions  is  to  experience ;  and  I 
think  that  experience  is  against  the  supposi 
tion.  It  is  by  the  assistance  of  heat  and  mois 
ture  that  vegetables  are  elaborated  from  the 
elements  of  earth,  air,  water,  and  fire.  We 
accordingly  see  the  more  humid  climates  pro 
duce  the  greater  quantity  of  vegetables.  Veg 
etables  are  mediately  or  immediately  the  food 
of  every  animal;  and  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  food,  we  see  animals  not  only  mul 
tiplied  in  their  numbers,  but  improved  in 
their  bulk,  as  far  as  the  laws  of  their  nature 
will  admit.  Of  this  opinion  is  the  Count  de 
Buffon  himself  in  another  part  of  his  work : 
"  En  g.eneral  il  paroit  que  les  pays  un  peu 
froids  conviennent  mieux  a  nos  boeufs  que 
les  pays  chauds  et  qu'ils  sont  d'autant  plus 
gros  et  plus  grands  que  le  climat  est  plus 

*  Buchanan's  works  were  publicly  burned  at  Ox 
ford.  See  Macaulay's  History  of  England,  Chap.  II. 
—EDITOR. 


humide  et  plus  abondans  en  paturages.  Les 
boeufs  de  Danemarck,  de  la  Podolie,  de 
1'Ukraine  et  de  la  Tartarie  qu'habitent  les  Cal- 
mouques  sont  les  plus  Brands  de  tous." 
Here  then  a  race  of  animals,  and  one  of  the 
largest  too,  has  been  increased  in  its  dimen 
sions  by  cold  and  moisture,  in  direct  opposi 
tion  to  the  hypothesis,  which  supposes  that 
these  two  circumstances  diminish  animal  bulk, 
and  that  it  is  their  contraries,  heat  and  dry- 
ness  which  enlarge  it. — NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA. 
viii,  290.  FORD  ED.,  iii,  135.  (1782.) 

970. .      The    mammoth     should 

have  sufficed  to  have  rescued  the  earth 
it  inhabited,  and  the  atmosphere  it  breathed, 
from  the  imputation  of  impotence  in  the 
conception  and  nourishment  of  animal  life 
on  a  large  scrale;  to  have  stifled,  in  its 
birth,  the  opinion  of  a  writer,  the  most 
learned,  too,  of  all  others  in  the  science  of 
animal  history,  that  in  the  new  world.  "  La 
nature  vivante  est  beaucoup  moins  agissante, 
beaucoup  moins  forte " ;  that  nature  is  less 
active,  less  energetic  on  one  side  of  the  globe 
than  she  is  on  the  other.  As  if  both  sides 
were  not  warmed  by  the  same  genial  sun ;  as 
if  a  soil  of  the  same  chemical  composition 
was  Jess  capable  of  elaboration  into  animal 
nutriment;  as  if  the  fruits  and  grains  from 
that  soil  and  sun  yielded  a  less  rich  chyle, 
gave  less  extension  to  the  solids  and  fluids 
of  the  body,  or  produced  sooner  in  the  carti 
lages,  membranes,  and  fibres,  that  rigidity 
which  restrains  all  further  extension,  and  ter 
minates  animal  growth.  The  truth  is  that  a 
pigmy  and  a  Patagonian,  a  mouse  and  a  mam 
moth,  derive  their  dimensions  from  the  same 
nutritive  juices.  The  difference  of  increment 
depends  on  circumstances  unsearchable  to  be 
ings  with  our  capacities.  Every  race  of  ani 
mals  seems  to  have  received  from  their  Maker 
certain  laws  of  extension  at  the  time  of  their 
formation.  Their  elaborate  organs  were 
formed  to  produce  this,  while  proper  obsta 
cles  were  opposed  to  its  further  progress.  Be 
low  these  limits  they  cannot  fall,  nor  rise 
above  them.  What  intermediate  station  they 
shall  take  may  depend  on  soil,  on  climate,  on 
food,  on  a  careful  choice  of  breeders.  But 
all  the  manna  of  heaven  would  never  raise 
the  mouse  to  the  bulk  of  the  mammoth. — 
NOTES  ON  VIRGINIA,  viii,  289.  FORD  ED.,  iii, 
134.  (1782.)  See  MAMMOTH. 

971.  BUFFON   (Count   de),    Gifts   to.— 
I  wrote  to  some  of  my  friends  in  America  de 
siring  they  would  send  me  such  of  the  spoils  of 
the    moose,    caribou,    elk    and    deer,    as    might 
throw  light  on  that  class  of  animals.     *     *     * 
I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  present  to  you    *    *    * 
the  bones  and  skin  of  a  moose,  the  horns  of  the 
caribou,   the   elk,   the   deer,   the   spiked   horned 
buck,   and  the  roebuck   of  America.     They   all 
come  from  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts. 
— To    COMTE  DE   BUFFON.     ii,   285.     FORD   ED., 
iv,  457-     (P-,  1787.) 

972.  BUNKER  HILL,  Battle  of.— Bun 
ker's  Hill,  or  rather  Breed's  Hill,  whereon  the 
action  was,  is  a  peninsula  joined  to  the  main 
land  by  a  neck  of  land  almost,  level  with  the 
water,  a  few  paces  wide,  and  about  one  or  two 
hundred  toises  long.     On  one  side  of  this  neck 


III 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


liurke  (Edmund) 
Burr  (Aaron) 


lay  a  vessel  of  war,  and  on  the  other  several 
gunboats.  The  body  of  our  army  was  on  the 
mainland ;  and  only  a  detachment  had  been 
sent  into  the  peninsula.  When  the  enemy  de 
termined  to  make  the  attack,  they  sent  the  ves 
sel  of  war  and  gunboats  to  take  the  position, 
before  mentioned,  to  cut  off  all  reinforcements, 
which  they  effectually  did.  Not  so  much  as  a 
company  could  venture  to  the  relief  of  the  men 
engaged,  who  therefore  fought  through  the 
whole  action,  and  at  length  were  obliged  to  re 
tire  across  the  neck  through  the  cross  fire  of 
the  vessels  before  mentioned.  Single  persons 
passed  along  the  neck  during  the  engagement, 
particularly  General  Putnam. — To  M.  SOULES. 
ix,  293.  FORD  ED.,  iv,  301.  (P.,  1786.) 

973.  BURKE  (Edmund),  Toryism  of.— 
The  Revolution  of  France  does  not  astonish  me 
so  much  as  the  revolution  of  Mr.  Burke.     I  wish 
I    could   believe   the   latter   proceeded    from    as 
pure  motives  as  the  former.     But  what  demon 
stration  could  scarcely  have  established  before, 
less   than   the  hints   of   Dr.    Priestley   and   Mr. 
Paine    establish    firmly    now.     How    mortifying 
that  this  evidence  of  the  rottenness  of  his  mind 
must  oblige  us  now  to  ascribe  to  wicked  mo 
tives  those  actions  of  his  life  which  wore  the 
mark  of  virtue  and  patriotism. — To  BENJAMIN 
VAUGHAN.     FORD  ED.,  v,  333.     (1791.) 

974.  BUSINESS,    Visionary    Principles 

in. — Men  come  into  business  at  first  with  vis 
ionary  principles.  It  is  practice  alone  which 
can  correct  and  conform  them  to  the  actual  cur 
rent  of  affairs.  In  the  meantime,  those  to 
whom  their  errors  were  first  applied  have  been 
their  victims. — To  JAMES  MADISON.  FORD  ED., 
v,  16.  (P.,  1788.) 

975.  BURR  (Aaron),  Characteristics  of. 

— I  never  thought  him  an  honest,  frank-deal 
ing  man,  but  considered  him  as  a  crooked 
gun,  or  other  perverted  machine,  whose  aim 
or  shot  you  could  never  be  sure  of.  Still, 
while  he  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  na 
tion,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  respect  in  him 
their  confidence,  and  to  treat  him  as  if  he  de 
served  it. — To  WILLIAM  B.  GILES,  v,  68. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  46.  (M.,  April  1807.) 

976.  BURR  (Aaron),  Distrust  of.— I  had 
never  seen  Colonel  Burr  till  he  came  here  as 
a  member  of  the  Senate.      His  conduct  very 
soon  inspired  me  with  distrust.     I  habitually 
cautioned  Mr.  Madison  against  trusting  him 
too  much.     I  saw  afterwards  that  under  Gen 
eral  Washington's  and  Mr.  Adams's  admin 
istrations,  whenever  a  great  military  appoint 
ment  or  a  diplomatic  one  was  to  be  made,  he 
came  post  to  Philadelphia  to  show  himself  and 
in  fact  that  he  was  always  at  market,  if  they 
had  wanted  him.    He  was  indeed  told  by  Day 
ton  in  1800  he  might  be  Secretary  of  War ; 
but  this  bid  was  too  late.     His  election  as 
V.  P.  was  then  foreseen.    With  these  impres 
sions  of  Colonel  Burr  there  never  had  been 
any  intimacy  between  us,  and  but  little  asso 
ciation.    When  I  destined  him  for  a  high  ap 
pointment,  it  was  out  of  respect  for  the  fa 
vor  he  had  obtained  with  the  republican  party 
by  his  extraordinary  exertions  and  successes 
in  the  New  York  election  in  1800. — ANAS,    ix, 
207.  FORD  ED.,  i,  304.     (1804.) 

977.  BURR  (Aaron),  Feeling  toward.— 
Against   Burr,   personally,    I    never   had   one 


hostile  sentiment. — To  WILLIAM  B.  GILES,    v, 
68.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  46.     (M.,  April  1807.) 

978.  BURR  (Aaron),  Honesty  and.— No 
man's  history  proves  better  the  value  of  hon 
esty.     With  that,   what   might   he  not  have 
been! — To  LEVI  LINCOLN,    v,  55.    (W.,  1807.) 

979.  BURR     (Aaron),     Overrated    Tal 
ents. — Burr  has  indeed  made  a  most  inglo 
rious   exhibition  of  his  much  overrated  tal 
ents. — To  ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON,  v,  55.    FORD 
ED.,  ix,  38.     (W.,  1807.) 

980.  -  — .A    great    man    in    little 
things,  he  is  really  small  in  great  ones. — To 
GEORGE  HAY.    v,  88.    FORD  ED.,  ix,  55.     (W., 
1807.) 

981.  BURR  (Aaron),  Political  Services. 
— He    has   certainly   greatly    merited    of   his 
country,  and  the  republicans  in  particular,  to 
whose  efforts  his  have  given  a  chance  of  suc 
cess. — To  PIERCE  BUTLER.     FORD  ED.,  vii,  449. 
(Aug.  1800.) 

982. .  While  I  must  congratu 
late  you  on  the  issue  of  this  contest  [the  Presi 
dential],  because  it  is  more  honorable,  and, 
doubtless,  more  grateful  to  you  than  any  station 
within  the  competence  of  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
yet  for  myself,  and  for  the  substantial  service  of 
the  public,  I  feel  most  sensibly  the  loss  we  sus 
tain  of  your  aid  in  our  new  administration.  It 
leaves  a  chasm  in  my  arrangements,  which  can 
not  be  adequately  filled  up.  I  had  endeavored  to 
compose  an  administration  whose  talents,  integ 
rity,  names,  and  dispositions,  should  at  once  in 
spire  unbounded  confidence  in  the  public  mind, 
and  insure  a  perfect  harmony  in  the  conduct  of 
the  public  business.  I  lose  you  from  the  list, 
and  am  not  sure  of  all  the  others.  Should 
the  gentlemen,  who  possess  the  public  confi 
dence,  decline  taking  a  part  in  their  affairs, 
and  force  us  to  take  persons  unknown  to  the 
people,  the  evil  genius  of  this  country  may 
realize  his  avowal  that  "  he  will  beat  down  the 
administration." — To  AARON  BURR.  iv,  341. 
FORD  ED.,  vii,  467.  (W.,  Dec.  1800.) 

983.  BURR  (Aaron),  Presidential  Con 
test. — It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  enemy 
would  endeavor  to  sow  tares  between  us,  that 
they  might  divide  us  and  our   friends.     Every 
consideration  satisfies  me  you  will  be  on  your 
guard  against  this,  as  I  assure  you  I  am  strong 
ly.     I  hear  of  one  stratagem  so  imposing  and  so 
base  that  it  is  proper  I  should  notice  it  to  you. 
Mr.    Munford    says    he    saw    at    New    York    an 
original  letter  of  mine  to  Judge   Breckenridge, 
in  which  are  sentiments  highly  injurious  to  you. 
He  knows  my  handwriting,  and  did  not  doubt 
that    to    be    genuine.     I    enclose    you    a    copy 
taken  from  the  press  copy  of  the  only  letter  I 
ever  wrote  to  Judge   Breckenridge  in   my  life. 

*  *  Of  consequence,  the  letter  seen  by 
Mr.  Munford  must  be  a  forgery,  and  if  it  con 
tains  a  sentiment  unfriendly  or  disrespectful  to 
you,  I  affirm  it  solemnly  to  be  a  forgery ;  as 
also  if  it  varies  from  the  copy  enclosed.  With 
the  common  trash  of  slander  I  should  not  think 
of  troubling  you ;  but  the  forgery  of  one's 
handwriting  is  too  imposing  to  be  neglected. — 
To  AARON  BURR,  iv,  349.  FORD  ED.,  vii,  485. 
(W.,  Feb.  1801.)  See  ELECTIONS — PRESIDEN 
TIAL,  1800. 

984.  BURR     (Aaron),     Relations    with 
Jefferson.— Colonel    Burr,    the   Vice    Presi- 


Burr  (Aaron) 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


112 


dent,  called  on  me  in  the  evening  [January  26th, 
1804],  having  previously  asked  an  opportunity 
of  conversing  with  me.  He  began  by  recapit 
ulating  summarily,  that  he  had  come  to  New 
York  a  stranger,  some  years  ago ;  that  he 
found  the  country  in  possession  of  two  rich 
families  (the  Livingstons  and  Clintons)  ;  that 
his  pursuits  were  not  political,  and  he  meddled 
not.  When  the  crisis,  however,  of  1800  came 
on,  they  found  their  influence  worn  out,  and 
solicited  his  aid  with  the  people.  He  lent  it 
•without  any  views  of  promotion.  That  his  be 
ing  named  as  a  candidate  for  Vice-President 
was  unexpected  by  him.  He  acceded  to  it  with 
a  view  to  promote  my  fame  and  advancement, 
and  from  a  desire  to  be  with  me,  whose  com 
pany  and  conversation  had  always  been  fasci 
nating  to  him.  That  since,  those  great  families 
had  become  hostile  to  him,  and  had  excited 
the  calumnies  which  I  had  seen  published. 
That  in  this  Hamilton  had  joined,  and  had  even 
written  some  of  the  pieces  against  him.  That 
his  attachment  to  me  had  been  sincere,  and  was 
still  unchanged,  although  many  little  stories  had 
been  carried  to  him,  and  he  supposed  to  me  also, 
which  he  despised ;  but  that  attachment  must 
be  reciprocal  or  cease  to  exist,  and,  therefore, 
he  asked  if  any  change  had  taken  place  in  mine 
towards  him  ;  that  he  had  chosen  to  have  this 
conversation  with  myself  directly;  and  not 
through  any  intermediate  agent.  He  reminded 
me  of  a  letter  written  to  him  about  the  time  of 
counting  the  votes  (say  February,  1801), 
mentioning  that  his  election  had  left  a  chasm  in 
my  arrangements ;  that  I  had  lost  him  from  my 
list  in  the  Administration,  &c.  He  observed, 
he  believed  it  would  be  for  the  interest  of  the 
republican  cause  for  him  to  retire  ;  that  a  dis 
advantageous  schism  would  otherwise  take 
place ;  but  that  were  he  to  retire,  it  would  be 
said  he  shrunk  from  the  public  sentence,  which 
he  never  would  do  ;  that  his  enemies  were  using 
my  name  to  destroy  him,  and  something  was 
necessary  from  me  to  prevent  and  deprive 
them  of  that  weapon,  some  mark  of  favor  from 
me  which  would  declare  to  the  world  that  he 
retired  with  my  confidence. 

I  answered  by  recapitulating  to  him  what  had 
been  my  conduct  previous  to  the  election  of 
i Sop.  That  I  had  never  interfered  directly  or 
indirectly  with  my  friends  or  any  others,  to 
influence  the  election  either  for  him  or  myself  ; 
that  I  considered  it  as  my  duty  to  be  merely 
passive,  except  that  in  Virginia,  I  had  taken 
some  measures  to  procure  for  him  the  unani 
mous  vote  of  that  State,  because  I  thought  any 
failure  there  might  be  imputed  to  me.  That  in 
the  election  now  coming  on,  I  was  observing 
the  same  conduct,  held  no  councils  with  anybody 
respecting  it,  nor  suffered  any  one  to  speak  to 
me  on  the  subject,  believing  it  my  duty  to  leave 
myself  to  the  free  discussion  of  the  public ; 
that  I  do  not  at  this  moment  know,  nor  have 
ever  heard,  who  were  to  be  proposed  as  candi 
dates  for  the  public  choice,  except  so  far  as 
could  be  gathered  from  the  newspapers.  That 
as?  to  the  attack  excited  against  him  in  the 
newspapers,  I  had  noticed  it  but  as  the  passing 
wind ;  that  I  had  seen  complaints  that  Cheet- 
ham,  employed  in  publishing  the  laws,  should 
be  permitted  to  eat  the  public  bread  and 
abuse  its  second  officer ;  that  as  to  this,  the 
publishers  of  the  laws  were  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  State,  without  any  reference  to 
me ;  that  to  make  the  notice  general,  it  was 
often  given  to  one  republican  and  one  federal 
printer  of  the  same  place ;  that  these  federal 
printers  did  not  in  the  least  intermit  their 
abuse  of  me.  though  receiving  emoluments  from 
die  government,  and  that  I  never  thought  it 


proper  to  interfere  for  myself,  and  consequently 
not  in  the  case  of  the  Vice-President.  That  as 
to  the  letter  he  referred  to,  I  remembered  it, 
and  believed  he  had  only  mistaken  the  date  at 
which  it  was  written ;  that  I  thought  it  must 
have  been  on  the  first  notice  of  the  event  of 
the  election  of  South  Carolina;  and  that  I  had 
taken  that  occasion  to  mention  to  him,  that  I 
had  intended  to  have  proposed  to  him  one  of 
the  great  offices,  if  he  had  not  been  elected ; 
but  that  his  election  in  giving  him  a  higher  sta 
tion  had  deprived  me  of  his  aid  in  the  Admin 
istration.  The  letter  alluded  to  was,  in  fact, 
mine  to  him  of  December  the  isth,  1800.  I 
now  went  on  to  explain  to  him  verbally,  what  I 
meant  by  saying  I  had  lost  him  from  my  list. 
That  in  General  Washington's  time,  it  had  been 
signified  to  him  that  Mr.  Adams,  the  Vice-Presi 
dent,  would  be  glad  of  a  foreign  embassy ;  that 
General  Washington  mentioned  it  to  me,  ex 
pressed  his  doubts  whether  Mr.  Adams  was  a 
fit  character  for  such  an  office,  and  his  still 
greater  doubts,  indeed  his  conviction,  that  it 
would  not  be  justifiable  to  send  away  the 
person  who,  in  case  of  his  death,  was  provided 
by  the  Constitution  to  take  his  place;  that  it 
would  moreover  appear  indecent  for  him  to  be 
disposing  of  the  public  trusts,  in  apparently 
buying  off  a  competitor  for  the  public  favor.  I 
concurred  with  him  in  the  opinion,  and,  if  I 
recollect  rightly,  Hamilton,  Knox,  and  Randolph 
were  consulted  and  gave  the  same  opinions. 
That  when  Mr.  Adams  came  to  the  Administra 
tion,  in  his  first  interview  with  me,  he  men 
tioned  the  necessity  of  a  mission  to  France, 
and  how  desirable  it  would  have  been  to  him  if 
he  could  have  got  me  to  undertake  it ;  but  that 
he  conceived  it  would  be  wrong  in  him  to  send 
me  away,  and  assigned  the  same  reasons  General 
Washington  had  done ;  and,  therefore,  he  should 
appoint  Mr.  Madison,  &c.  That  I  had  myself 
contemplated  his  (Colonel  Burr's)  appointment 
to  one  of  the  great  offices,  in  case  he  was  not 
elected  Vice-President ;  but  that  as  soon  as  that 
election  was  known,  I  saw  it  could  not  be  done, 
for  the  good  reasons  which  had  led  General 
Washington  and  Mr.  Adams  to  the  same  con 
clusion  ;  and  therefore,  in  my  first  letter  to 
Colonel  Burr,  after  the  issue  was  known,  I 
had  mentioned  to  him  that  a  chasm  in  my  ar 
rangements  had  been  produced  by  this  event. 
I  was  thus  particular  in  rectifying  the  date  of 
this  letter,  because  it  gave  me  an  opportunity 
of  explaining  the  grounds  on  which  it  was 
written,  which  were,  indirectly  an  answer  to 
his  present  hints.  He  left  the  matter  with  me 
for  consideration,  and  the  conversation  was 
turned  to  indifferent  subjects.  I  should  here 
notice,  that  Colonel  Burr  must  have  thought 
that  I  could  swallow  strong  things  in  my  own 
favor,  when  he  founded  his  acquiescence  in 
the  nomination  as  Vice-President.  to  his  de 
sire  of  promoting  my  honor,  the  being  with  me, 
whose  company  and  conversation  had  always 
been  fascinating  with  him.  &c. — THE  ANAS,  ix, 
204.  FORD  ED.,  i,  301.  (Jan.  1804.) 

985.  BURR  (Aaron),  Threatens  Jeffer 
son.— About  a  month  ago  [March  1806] 
Colonel  Burr  called  on  me,  and  entered  into  a 
conversation,  in  which  he  mentioned  that  a 
little  before  my  coming  into  office,  I  had  written 
to  him  a  letter  intimating  that  I  had  destined 
him  for  high  employ,  had  he  not  been  placed  by 
the  people  in  a  different  one;  that  he  had  signi 
fied  his  willingness  to  resign  as  Vice-President, 
to  give  aid  to  the  Administration  in  any  other 
place,  that  he  had  never  asked  an  office,  how 
ever  ;  he  asked  aid  of  nobody,  but  could  walk 
on  his  own  legs  and  take  care  of  himself;  that 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Burr  •.  AM  roii) 
tturr's  i A.)  Treason 


I  had  always  used  him  with  politeness,  but  noth 
ing  more ;  that  he  aided  in  bringing  on  the 
present  order  of  things  ;  that  he  had  supported 
the  Administration  ;  and  that  he  could  do  me 
much  harm  ;  he  wished,  however,  to  be  on  dif 
ferent  ground ;  he  was  now  disengaged  from 
all  particular  business — willing  to  engage  in 
something — should  be  in  town  some  days,  if  I 
should  have  anything  to  propose  to  him.  I  ob 
served  to  him,  that  I  had  always  been  sensible 
that  he  possessed  talents  which  might  be  em 
ployed  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  public, 
and  that  as  to  myself,  I  had  a  confidence  that  if 
he  were  employed,  he  would  use  his  talents  for 
the  public  good  ;  but  that  he  must  be  sensible 
the  public  had  withdrawn  their  confidence  from 
him,  and  that  in  a  government  like  ours  it  was 
necessary  to  embrace  in  its  administration  as 
great  a  mass  of  public  confidence  as  possible, 
by  employing  those  who  had  a  character  with 
the  public,  of  their  own,  and  not  merely  a  sec 
ondary  one  through  the  Executive.  He  ob 
served,  that  if  we  believed  a  few  newspapers, 
it  might  be  supposed  he  had  lost  the  public 
confidence,  but  that  I  knew  how  easy  it  was 
to  engage  newspapers  in  anything.  I  observed, 
that  I  did  not  refer  to  that  kind  of  evidence  of 
his  having  lost  the  public  confidence,  but  to 
the  late  Presidential  election,  when,  though  in 
possession  of  the  office  of  Vice-President,  there 
was  not  a  single  voice  heard  for  his  retaining 
it.  That  as  to  any  harm  he  could  do  me,  I 
knew  no  cause  why  he  should  desire  it.  but, 
at  the  same  time,  I  feared  no  injury  which  any 
man  could  do  me ;  that  I  never  had  done  a 
single  act,  or  been  concerned  in  any  transac 
tion,  which  I  feared  to  have  fully  laid  open,  or 
which  could  do  me  any  hurt,  if  truly  stated ; 
that  I  had  never  done  a  single  thing  with  a  view 
to  my  personal  interest,  or  that  of  any  friend,  or 
with  any  other  view  than  that  of  the  greatest 
public  good ;  that,  therefore,  no  threat  or  fear 
on  that  head  would  ever  be  a  motive  of  action 
with  me.  I  did  not  commit  these  things  to 
writing  at  the  time,  but  I  do  it  now,  because  in 
a  suit  between  him  and  Cheetham,  he  has  had 
a  deposition  of  Mr.  Bayard  taken,  which  seems 
to  have  no  relation  to  the  suit,  nor  to  any  other 
object  than  to  calumniate  me.  Bayard  pretends 
to  have  addressed  to  me,  during  the  pending  of 
the  Presidential  election  in  February,  1801, 
through  General  Samuel  Smith,  certain  condi 
tions  on  which  my  election  might  be  obtained, 
and  that  General  Smith,  after  conversing  with 
me,  gave  answers  from  me.  This  is  absolutely 
false.  No  proposition  of  any  kind  was  ever 
made  to  me  on  that  occasion  by  General  Smith, 
nor  any  answer  authorized  by  me.  And  this 
fact  General  Smith  affirms  at  this  moment. — 
THE  ANAS,  ix,  208.  FORD  EDV  i,  311.  (April 
1806.) 

986.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Counter 
acted. — During  the  last  session  of  Congress, 
Colonel  Burr  who  was  here  [Washington],  find 
ing  no  hope  of  being  employed  in  any  depart 
ment  of  the  government,  opened  himself  con 
fidentially  to  some  persons  on  whom  he  thought 
he  could  rely,  on  a  scheme  of  separating  the 
Western  from  the  Atlantic  States,  and  erecting 
the  former  into  an  independent  confederacy. 
He  had  before  made  a  tour  of  those  States 
u'hich  had  excited  suspicions,  as  every  nation 
does  of  such  a  Catalinian  character.  *  *  * 
We  [the  cabinet]  are  of  opinion  unanimously, 
that  confidential  letters  be  written  to  the 
Governors  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Mississippi  and 
Orleans  *  *  *  to  have  him  strictly  watched 
and  on  his  committing  any  overt  act  unequivo 
cally,  to  have  him  arrested  and  tried  for  treason, 


misdemeanor,  or  whatever  other  offence  the  act 
may  amount  to.  And  in  like  manner  to  arrest 
and  try  any  of  his  followers  committing  acts 
against  the  laws. — ANAS.  FORD  ED.,  i,  318. 
(July  1806.) 

987.  BURR'S  (A.)   TREASON,   Decoys. 

— Burr  has  been  able  to  decoy  a  great  propor 
tion  of  his  people  by  making  them  believe  the 
government  secretly  approves  of  this  expedition 
against  the  Spanish  territories.  We  are  look 
ing  with  anxiety  to  see  what  exertions  the 
Western  country  will  make  in  the  first  instance 
for  their  own  defence ;  and  I  confess  that  my 
confidence  in  them  is  entire. — To  GOVERNOR 
CLAIBORNE.  FORD  ED.,  viii,  502.  (W.,  Dec. 
1806.) 

988. .     It     is     understood     that 

wherever  Burr  met  with  subjects  who  did  not 
choose  to  embark  in  his  projects,  unless  ap 
proved  by  their  government,  he  asserted  that  he 
had  that  approbation.  Most  of  them  took  his 
word  for  it,  but  it  is  said  that  with  those  who 
would  not,  the  following  stratagem  was  prac 
ticed.  A  forged  letter,  purporting  to  be  from 
General  Dearborn,  was  made  to  express  his  ap 
probation,  and  to  say  that  I  was  absent  at 
Monticello,  but  that  there  was  no  doubt  that, 
on  my  return,  my  approbation  of  his  enterprises 
would  be  given.  This  letter  was  spread  open 
on  his  table,  so  as  to  invite  the  eye  of  whoever 
entered  his  room,  and  he  contrived  occasions 
of  sending  up  into  his  room  those  whom  he 
wished  to  become  witnesses  of  his  acting  under 
sanction.  By  this  means  he  avoided  committing 
himself  to  any  liability  to  prosecution  for 
forgery,  and  gave  another  proof  of  being  a  great 
man  in  little  things,  while  he  is  really  small  in 
great  ones.  I  must  add  General  Dearborn's 
declaration,  that  he  never  wrote  a  letter  to  Burr 
in  his  life,  except  that  when  here,  once  in  a 
winter,  he  usually  wrote  him  a  billet  of  invita 
tion  to  dine. — To  GEORGE  HAY.  v,  87.  FORD 
ED.,  ix,  54.  (W.,  June  1807.) 

989.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Designs 

of. — The  designs  of  our  Cataline  are  as  real  as 
they  are  romantic,  but  the  parallel  he  has  se 
lected  from  history  for  the  model  of  his  own 
course  corresponds  but  by  halves.  It  is  true  in 
its  principal  character,  but  the  materials  to  be 
employed  are  totally  different  from  the  scour- 
ings  of  Rome.  I  am  confident  he  will  be  com 
pletely  deserted  on  the  appearance  of  the  procla 
mation,  because  his  strength  was  to  consist  of 
people  who  had  been  persuaded  that  the  govern 
ment  connived  at  the  enterprise. — To  CAESAR  A. 
RODNEY.  FORD  EDV  viii,  497.  (W.,  Dec.  1806.) 

990. .     Burr's  object  is  to  take 

possession  of  New  Orleans,  as  a  station  whence 
to  make  an  expedition  against  Vera  Cruz  and 
Mexico.  His  party  began  their  formation  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Beaver,  whence  they  started 
the  ist  or  2d  of  this  month,  and  would  collect 
all  the  way  down  the  Ohio.  We  trust  that  the 
opposition  we  have  provided  at  Marietta,  Cin 
cinnati,  Louisville,  and  Massac  will  be  sufficient 
to  stop  him  ;  but  we  are  not  certain  because  we 
do  not  know  his  strength.  It  is,  therefore,  pos 
sible  he  may  escape,  and  then  his  great  ren 
dezvous  is  to  be  at  Natchez.  *  *  *  We 
expect  you  will  collect  all  your  force  of  militia, 
act  in  conjunction  with  Colonel  Freeman,  and 
take  such  a  stand  as  shall  be  concluded  best. — 
To  GOVERNOR  CLAIBORNE.  FORD  ED.,  viii.  501. 
(W.,  Dec.  1806.) 

991. .     His    first   enterprise   was 

to  have  been  to  seize  New  Orleans,  which  he 


Burr's  (A.)  Treason 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


114 


supposed  would  powerfully  bridle  the  upper 
country,  and  place  him  at  the  door  of  Mexico. 
— To  MARQUIS  DE  LAFAYETTE,  v,  131.  FORD 
ED.,  x,  144.  (W.,  July  1807.) 

992. .     Burr's    enterprise    is    the 

most  extrarodinary  since  the  days  of  Don  Qui 
xote.  It  is  so  extravagant  that  those  who  know 
his  understanding,  would  not  believe  it  if  the 
proofs  admitted  doubt.  He  has  meant  to  place 
himself  on  the  throne  of  Montezuma,  and  ex 
tend  his  empire  to  the  Alleghany,  seizing  on 
New  Orleans  as  the  instrument  of  compulsion 
for  western  States. — To  REV.  CHAS.  CLAY,  v, 
28.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  7.  (W.,  Jan.  1807.) 

993.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Fearless 
of. — For  myself,  even  in  Burr's  most  flatter 
ing  periods   of  the   conspiracy,   I   never   enter 
tained  one  moment's  fear.    My  long  and  intimate 
knowledge  of  my  countrymen,  satisfied    and  sat 
isfies  me,  that  let  there  ever  be  occasion  to  dis 
play  the  banners  of  the  law,  and  the  world  will 
see  how   few   and  pitiful   are  those   who   shall 
array  themselves  in  opposition. — To  DR.  JAMES 
BROWN,     v,  379.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  211.     (W.,  Oct. 
1808.) 

994.  BURR'S    (A.)    TREASON",    Flagi 
tious. — His  conspiracy  has  been  one  of  the 
most  flagitious  of  which  history  will  ever  furnish 
an  example.    He  meant  to  separate  the  Western 
States  from  us,  to  add  Mexico  to  them,  place 
himself  at  their  head,  establish  what  he  would 
deem  an  energetic  government,  and  thus  provide 
an  example  and  an  instrument  for  the  subver 
sion  of  our  freedom.     The  man  who  could  ex 
pect   to    effect   this,    with    American    materials, 
must  be  a  fit  subject  for  Bedlam. — To  MARQUIS 
DE    LAFAYETTE,      v,    129.      FORD    ED.,    ix,    113. 
(W.,  July  1807.) 

995. .     Burr's      conspiracy     has 

been  one  of  the  most  flagitious  of  which  history 
will  ever  furnish  an  example.  He  had  combined 
the  objects  of  separating  the  Western  States 
from  us,  of  adding  Mexico  to  them,  and  of  pla 
cing  himself  at  their  head.  But  he  who  could 
expect  to  effect  such  objects  by  the  aid  of 
American  citizens,  must  be  perfectly  ripe  for 
Bedlam. — To  DUPONT  DE  NEMOURS,  v,  128. 
FORD  ED.,  ix,  in.  (W.,  July  1807.) 

996.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Louis 
iana  and. — It  has  given  me  infinite  satisfac 
tion  that  not  a  single  native  Creole  of  Louisiana, 
and  but  one  American,  settled  there  before  the 
delivery  of  the  country  to  us,  were  in  his  inter 
est.  His  partisans  there  were  made  up  of  fugi 
tives  from  justice,  or  from  their  debts,  who  had 
flocked  there  from  other  parts  of  the  United 
States,  after  the  delivery  of  the  country,  and 
of  adventurers  and  speculators  of  all  descrip 
tions. — To  DUPONT  DE  NEMOURS,  v,  128.  FORD 
ED.,  ix,  113.  (W.,  July  1807.) 

997. .     The     native     inhabitants 

were  unshaken  in  their  fidelity.  But  there  was 
a  small  band  of  American  adventurers  who  had 
fled  from  their  debts,  and  who  were  longing  to 
dip  their  hands  into  the  mines  of  Mexico,  en 
listed  in  Burr's  double  project  of  attacking  that 
country,  and  severing  our  Union.  Had  Burr 
had  a  little  success  in  the  upper  country,  these 
parricides  would  have  joined  him. — To  MARQUIS 
DE  LAFAYETTE.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  65.  (W.,  May 
1807.) 

998.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  The  Peo 
ple  and. — The  hand  of  the  people  has  given 
the  mortal  blow  to  a  conspiracy  which,  in  other 
countries,  would  have  called  for  an  appeal  to 


armies,  and  has  proved  that  government  to  be 
the  strongest  of  which  every  man  feels  himself  a 
part.  It  is  a  happy  illustration,  too,  of  the  im 
portance  of  preserving  to  the  State  authorities 
all  that  vigor  which  the  Constitution  foresaw 
would  be  necessary,  not  only  for  their  own 
safety,  but  for  that  of  the  whole. — To  GOVERNOR 
H.  D.  TIFFIN,  v,  38.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  21.  (W., 
Feb.  1807.) 

999. .     The  whole  business   has 

shown  that  neither  Burr  nor  his  [associates] 
knew  anything  of  the  people  of  this  country.  A 
simple  proclamation  informing  the  people  of 
these  combinations,  and  calling  on  them  to  sup 
press  them,  produced  an  instantaneous  levee  en 
masse  of  our  citizens  wherever  there  appeared 
anything  to  lay  hold  of,  and  the  whole  was 
crushed  in  one  instant. — To  MARQUIS  DE  LA 
FAYETTE.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  66.  (W.,  May  1807.) 

1000.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Punish 
ment   of.— -Their   crimes   are   defeated,    and 
whether  they  shall  be  punished  or  not  belongs 
to  another  department,  and  is  not  the  subject  of 
even  a  wish  on  my  part. — To  J.  H.  NICHOLSON. 
v,  45.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  31.     (W.,  Feb.  1807.) 

1001.  BURR'S    (A.)    TREASON,    Self- 
government    and. — The  suppression  of  the 
late  conspiracy  by  the  hand  of  the  people,  up 
lifted  to  destroy  it  wherever  it  reared  its  head, 
manifests  their  fitness  for  self-government,  and 
the  power  of  a  nation,  of  which  every  individual 
feels  that  his  own  will  is  part  of  the  public  au 
thority. — R.   TO  A.    NEW  JERSEY  LEGISLATURE. 
viii,   122.   (Dec.   1807.) 

1002.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Strength 
of  Government  and. — The  proof  we  have 
lately  seen  of  the  innate  strength  of  our  govern 
ment,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  which  his 
tory   has   recorded,    and   shows   that   we   are   a 
people  capable  of  self-government,  and  worthy 
of  it.    The  moment  that  a  proclamation  apprised 
our    citizens    that    there    were    traitors    among 
them,  and  what  was  the  object,  they  rose  upon 
them    wherever    they    lurked,    and    crushed    by 
their  own  strength  what  would  have  produced 
the  march  of  armies  and  civil  war  in  any  other 
country.     The  government  which  can  wield  the 
arm  of  the  people  must  be  the  strongest  possible. 
To  MR.  WEAVER,     v,  89.     (W.,  June  1807.) 

1003. .     Nothing    has    ever     so 

strongly  proved  the  innate  force  of  our  form  of 
government,  as  this  conspiracy.  Burr  had  prob 
ably  engaged  one  thousand  men  to  follow  his 
fortunes,  without  letting  them  know  his  projects, 
otherwise  than  by  assuring  them  that  the  gov 
ernment  approved  them.  The  moment  a  proc 
lamation  was  issued,  undeceiving  them,  he 
found  himself  left  with  about  thirty  desperadoes 
only.  The  people  rose  in  mass  wherever  he 
was,  or  was  suspected  to  be,  and  by  their  own 
energy  the  thing  was  crushed  in  one  instant, 
without  its  having  been  necessary  to  employ  a 
man  of  the  military  but  to  take  care  of  their 
respective  stations. — To  MARQUIS  DE  LAFAYETTE. 
v,  130.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  114.  (W.,  July  1807.) 

1004. .     This  affair  has  been  a 

great  confirmation  in  my  mind  of  the  innate 
strength  of  the  form  of  our  government.  He 
had  probably  induced  near  a  thousand  men  to 
engage  with  him,  by  making  them  believe  the 
government  connived  at  it.  A  proclamation 
alone,  by  undeceiving  them,  so  completely  dis 
armed  him,  that  he  had  not  above  thirty  men 
left,  ready  to  go  all  lengths  with  him. — To  DU 
PONT  DE  NEMOURS,  v,  128.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  in. 
(W.,  July  1807.) 


, 


THE  JEFFERSONIAN  CYCLOPEDIA 


Burr's  (A.)  Treason 
Burr's  (A.)  Trial 


1005.  BURR'S    (A.)    TREASON,    Sup 
pressed. — I  informed  Congress  at  their  last 
session  *   of  the   enterprises   against  the  public 
peace  which  were  believed  to  be  in  preparation 
by  Aaron  Burr  and  his  associates,  of  the  meas 
ures  taken  to  defeat  them,  and  to  bring  the  of 
fenders  to  justice.    Their  enterprises  were  hap 
pily  defeated  by  the  patriotic  exertions  of  the 
militia  wherever  called  into  action,  by  the  fidel 
ity  of  the  army,  and  energy  of  the  commander- 
in-chief   in   promptly   arranging   the   difficulties 
presenting  themselves  on  the  Sabine,  repairing  to 
meet  those  arising  on  the  Mississippi,  and  dis 
sipating,  before  their  explosion,  plots  engender 
ing    them. — SEVENTH    ANNUAL    MESSAGE,     viii, 
87.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  162.     (Oct.  1807.) 

1006.  BURR'S  (A.)  TREASON,  Western 

Loyalty. — The  enterprise  has  done  good  by 
proving  that  the  attachment  of  the  people  in  the 
West  is  as  firm  as  that  in  the  East  to  the  union 
of  our  country,  and  by  establishing  a  mutual  and 
universal  confidence. — To  MARQUIS  DE  LAFAY 
ETTE.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  66.  (W.,  May  1807.) 

1007.  BURR'S   (A.)    TRIAL,   Arrest.— 
Your    sending    here    [Washington]     Swartwout 
and  Ballman  and  adding  to  them  Burr,  Blenner- 
hassett   and   Tyler,   should  they   fall   into   your 
hands,  will  be  supported  by  the  public  opinion. 
*  *   *  I  hope,  however,  you  will  not  extend  this 
deportation   to   persons   against   whom   there   is 
only  suspicion,  or  shades  of  offence  not  strongly 
marked.     In  that  case,  I  fear  the  public  senti 
ment  would  desert  you :    because  seeing  no  dan 
ger  here,  violations  of  law  are  felt  with  strength. 
— To  GENERAL  WILKINSON,     v,  39.     FORD  ED., 
ix,  4.     (W.,  Feb.  1807.) 

1008. .  That  the  arrest  of  Col 
onel  Burr  was  military  has  been  disproved ;  but 
had  it  been  so,  every  honest  man  and  good  citi 
zen  is  bound,  by  any  means  in  his  power,  to 
arrest  the  author  of  projects  so  daring  and  dan 
gerous. — To  EDMUND  PENDLETON  GAINES.  v, 
141.  FORD  ED.,  ix,  122.  (W.,  July  1807.) 

—  BURR'S  (A.)  TRIAL,  Bollman's  con 
fession. — See  BOLLMAN. 

1009.  BURR'S  (A.)  TRIAL,  Charges.— I 
do    suppose    the    following    overt   acts    will    be 
proved,     i.  The  enlistment  of  men  in  a  regular 
way.     2.  The  regular  mounting  of  guard  round 
Blennerhassett's    Island  *  *  *     .      3.    The   ren 
dezvous  of  Burr  with  his  men  at  the  mouth  of 
the    Cumberland.     4.  His    letter    to    the    acting 
Governor  of  Mississippi,  holding  up  the  prospect 
of     civil     war.     5.  His     capitulation     regularly 
signed  with   the  aids   of  the   Governor,   as  be 
tween  two  independent  and  hostile  commanders. 
— To  WILLIAM  B.  GILES,     v,  66.     FORD  ED.,  ix, 
43.     (M.,  April  1807.) 

1010.  BURR'S  (A.)  TRIAL,  Conviction 
doubtful. — That  there  should  be  anxiety  and 
doubt  in  the  public  mind,  in  the  present  defect 
ive  state  of  the  proof,  is  not  wonderful ;    and 
this    has    been    sedulously    encouraged    by    the 
tricks  of  the  judges  to  force  trials  before  it  is 
possible     to     collect     the     evidence,     dispersed 
through    a    line    of    two    thousand    miles    from 
Maine  to  Orleans. — To  WILLIAM  B.  GILES,     v, 
65.     FORD  ED.,  ix,  42.     (M.,  April  1807.) 

1011. .     Although  there  is  not  a 

man  in  the  United  States  who  doubts  his  guilt, 
such  are  the  jealous  provisions  of  our  laws  in 

*  Jefferson  sent  a  message  to  Congress,  January  22, 
1807,  giving  a  record  of  the  facts  in  Burr's  conspiracy. 
—EDITOR. 


favor  of  the  accused  against  the  accuser,  that 
1  question  if  he  is  convicted. â€